


Demyx Drabbles oop-- 😳

by Zonerz



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alcohol, Amnesia, Demyx didnt sign up for it but on god he's dealing with it, Gen, Ice Powers, Kinda, Larxene and Demyx are just dumb siblings, Light Angst, Mystery, Swearing, Water Powers, demyx is vibing and his powers and freaking out on him for seemingly no reason so ZOINKS, post kh3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23474491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zonerz/pseuds/Zonerz
Summary: I wanted to make Demyx content but also wanted to explore his character more and couldn't do this much with just drawing SO. There weren't as many just Dem vibing and hanging out with people fics as I wanted so I basically just made my own KLSDJFSKLDFJL they're kind of messy cause I made them all only vaguely connected until more recently when I've added a vague plotline.Basically, Demyx can't remember his past no matter how hard he tries. It bugs him about as much as you'd expect. But it's starting to become trouble as his powers begin acting out of turn and gaining strength, and his memories keep trying to push themselves to the surface. Shit bro, what's up with that? Even though he always wanted to know who he was, he's frankly dreading to find out these days.
Comments: 48
Kudos: 71





	1. "ICE to see ya! HA! Get it cuz.......... ice................. lol"

**Author's Note:**

> This is like the first time I wrote any of these guys so I APOLOGIZE.............. it was based off of a joke convo a bud and I had and lol I just went for it
> 
> It's not like the earliest thing Ive written timeline wise but I feel it's the best introduction piece to this set of drabbles lol

“Are you  _ serious?!” _ Axel’s strained tone echoes through the room as he pinches his nose with one hand, phone pressed to his ear with the other. From the phone the faint sound of yelling can be heard if you listen carefully, like Roxas and Xion not-so-secretly do from the couch. Axel smacks a hand to his forehead, a disbelieving sigh blowing out from him. “ _ You have  _ **_got_ ** _ to be kidding me… _ What do you hope for me to do??” He turns around, one hand now on his hip. Xion and Roxas share an equally confused look before shrugging. “ _ Thaw _ it??? You expect me to be able to do that without burning the whole place  _ down? _ No-- _ No _ just because I have a keyblade doesn’t mean I can just do  _ whatever!  _ Well  _ I don’t know what to tell you!  _ I didn’t get a brochure to pass out to my friends, dude.”

“Thawing…?” Xion scrunches up her face, “Is he talking to Vexen?” She glances to Roxas who thinks for a second then frowns and shakes his head.

“I don’t think so… I don’t think he’d use this tone with him.”

“Hmm… Fair enough.” Xion places a hand on her chin in thought before Axel finally turns around to face them, bouncing his phone a bit in his hand. Both Roxas and Xion look up expectantly. 

“Sooooo…?” Roxas rests his cheek on his hand on the back of the couch.

“Well, it looks like we’ve gotta go attempt a housecall! Apparently  _ we’re _ the best people to call instead of… I’unno… Ienzo or Vexen or someone who deals with more complicated magic more often.”

“Aren’t they scientists?” Xion pipes up.

“Eh, close enough right?” Axel shrugs and meanders over to the couch and begins putting his boots on.

Roxas hops up, arms crossed. “Who even called? If it wasn’t Vexen, then who was it that managed to freeze something over.”

Axel grunts as he laces up his boots, “ _ Well. _ An entire  _ home _ is currently frozen over because a good old friend of ours  _ stubbed his toe.” _

“You’re  _ kidding, right?” _

“Be great if I was!” Axel shrugs.

“Someone froze over an _ entire house  _ because of _ that? Why? Who???” _ Xion gets up, confusion clear in her face. Axel takes the chance to chuckle and shake his head.

“It was completely reactionary. No clue how he managed to  _ do _ it but he can’t  _ undo _ it either. I’ll give you three guesses on what ex-organization clutz could manage to do that, but you won’t need all three.”

“ _ Demyx…” _ Roxas groans, rolling his eyes to the sky as he staggers back to the couch. Xion just lights up in turn. 

“I forgot he could use Blizzard magic! Geez… I didn’t think he could  _ do _ much without his sitar…”

“I didn’t either to be fair.” Axel shrugs, “Then again he was strumming away on that thing so often that it’s not surprising to think that was the only way he could actually  _ use _ water and stuff. Apparently things have been getting a bit more dicey for him though, which is interesting to say the least.”

“Hmm…” Xion frowns, thinking hard. Axel stands up, bouncing slightly in his boots then nodding to them.

“A’ight! Let’s go scope out the damage! C’mon Roxas, it’ll be amusing at  _ least.” _

“ _ I do not like him.” _

“I know buddy.”   


“ _ I really would prefer not to.” _

_ “I know buddy.” _

~~~~~

“ _ SHIT!” _ Axel hardly gets a step inside before his footing is ripped out from under him and he’s suddenly on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. He slides a little on the frozen floor, groaning as Xion and Roxas watch from the doorway. The sound of footsteps from another part of the small apartment grow closer and Demyx quickly slides into view. He grimaces, flailing his arms slightly to keep his balance with his speed. He glances over to the doorway and openly cringes at the sight. 

He glances briefly to Xion and Roxas who are still safely situated right outside the door then hurries over to Axel as he regains his footing. He crouches down and lightly pats Axel on the arm, a bit nervous to do so. A green eye cracks open, face still scrunched up in mild pain and meets Demyx’s apologetic yet slightly amused smile. He lets out a huge sigh and holds a hand up which Demyx quickly grabs and helps pull the taller man to his feet. Axel slides a bit on his slick soles, but manages to stay upright this time. After a moment Demyx steps back, rubbing his neck.

“Sorry… Should’ve warned you it’s really kinda like…  _ everywhere.” _ He lets out a weak chuckle and Axel nods, taking time to take in the small apartment fully. The shine and glare of light shimmers off of every surface in the room. In some spots, the ice is more visible, with magical blue patterns and cracks snaking their way through it. Glancing down, the same glow lightly emanates underneath Demyx’s feet with each step he takes. Axel blinks, slightly slack-jawed now. He stands there and opens his mouth to say something, but keeps losing his voice, eventually opting to just make a sound of disdain as he rests a hand against his head. Demyx responds quietly, “ _ Yeah it’s bad I know…” _

“And you said you stubbed your  _ toe? _ Is that…  _ Still _ the story here?”

Demyx suddenly gets nervous and nods, “ _ Y-Yeah! I promise!! I-I wasn’t doing anything but just getting up to grab some breakfast a-and I was still tired so I like was walking around all sluggish and stuff and didn’t see where I was going and I was hurrying to the fridge to get milk and stuff so BASICALLY--” _

“ _ Okay, okay! _ Point taken, this was all a freak accident. I’m not gonna freak out on ya or anything just…  _ Shit, dude!  _ This is a lot for such a little thing.”

“I-I know! I  _ know _ , I’m sorry for bothering you with it I just like…” He shrugs, “I didn’t know who else to really ask. I don’t wanna be a burden on, like, Ienzo or Vexen or someone when they’re already so busy.” He mumbles under his breath, “‘ _ Sides I don’t think they really wanna see me more than necessary these days.” _

“What, you mess up one of their labs?” 

“Nah I just… I dunno, I know I wasn’t super well liked so...” Demyx shrugs. Axel nods--alright, fair point. 

“Well, even  _ if _ Vexen-- _ Even? _ \--in particular didn’t like you that much, I think both he and Ienzo would be interested to hear about all  _ this _ . I don’t think I’ve heard of any other ex-organization members' powers freaking out like this. Is this the first time something like this has happened?” He pauses for a moment then eyes Demyx a bit more suspiciously, “Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding this for a  _ while. _ ”

“Okay, I won’t tell you I’ve been hiding it.”

“... So you--”   


“ _ Of course I’ve been hiding it!!!” _ Demyx flings his arms out and with it a slew of small ice spikes shoot up around his feet. He gasps a little and tries to move, only finding his feet now stuck in said ice. He quickly deflates, and runs his hands through his hair, stress obvious as he tries to tug his feet free. Axel, blows out a breath.  _ Hoo boy. _

“Okay, this is just kinda sad now.” Roxas says from the doorway. Demyx glowers at him but doesn’t really have the energy to keep it up. Xion carefully steps inside, padding over and crouching down by the ice and poking at it. Roxas carefully slides inside, stopping a bit behind Axel.

“The ice is…  _ relatively _ newer but yeah uhhh. My water powers have been pretty wack lately? Like for example I was uhh doing dishes the other day! I was cleaning the plate--as one does. I  _ dropped _ the plate--as one does! And just getting mildly frustrated by that, my uhhh  _ sink exploded! _ Which, of course, led to me being a bit  _ more _ frustrated and I’m sure you can imagine how well  _ that _ went over.” Demyx complains and he reaches down and grabs his leg to pry it out of the ice. “ _ Luckily, _ in regards to this  _ ice,” _ He yanks one foot out, the ice shattering and causing him to stumble momentarily. He sighs and starts on his other foot, “Ice and cold stuff never really bothered me. Probably because I deal with this type of magicso I at least don’t have to super worry about frostbite and whatever. Hypothermia? Frostbite? One of those I think…” 

“Yeesh though. What curse did you accidentally unleash? Talk about unlucky.” Roxas huffs. In the meantime Axel crouches down and creates a tiny flame in his hand to help melt the ice around Demyx’s other foot. Demyx visibly tenses and bit and Axel holds out his other hand.

“ _ HEY! Hey, chill.  _ No offense but I’d rather not be impaled by your emotion-ice. I’m not gonna burn you.”

“S-Sorry…” He mumbles, just sighing and letting Axel help. Once finally freed he carefully takes a few more steps back from the new trio and rubs his neck. “I’ve already tried seeing if I could like  _ undo _ it but it just… Made some areas worse.”

“And I take it you can’t  _ stop _ using your powers? Because if you can’t stop freezing shit or flooding the place then it’s hard for me or anyone else to really do much.” Axel crosses his arms. 

“Uhhh well… Kind of…?”

“ _ That’s not encouraging.” _ Roxas pipes up. Axel nods with a sigh and Demyx just rubs his arms awkwardly, looking down at his feet. Xion frowns, feeling bad for him. She turns to Axel and points to his pocket.

“Axel, couldn’t you call Ienzo or Vexen and have them try and figure Demyx out while we chip away at the ice? If you, me, and Roxas all use our keyblades and a little bit of fire magic we might be able to melt this place pretty quickly! Plus with all three of us working you won’t get burnt out and we can keep our magic stable for longer!” 

“I guess that could work, but it also depends on how quickly Vexen and Ienzo could figure Demyx out.” Roxas summons one of his keyblades and looks it over after he finishes speaking, as if he could find the answer in it. He glances up to Demyx, “Hey, have you tried seeing if your Sitar would actually  _ help? _ It might help act as a mediator.”

“Or it could make things  _ worse.” _ Demyx whines, rubbing his forehead. He sighs then shakes his head, “But  _ no _ actually. Partially because it’s kinda frozen solid at the moment…” He shrugs helplessly. Roxas raises an eyebrow.

“Can’t you just summon it?”

“If it was regular ice, probably, but considering this is all  _ magic, _ and  _ my _ magic, then there’s like, conflicts with that. You’d assume that one would just melt the magic ice then grab it, but I can’t really  _ do _ that so I’m stuck.” He flicks some bangs out of his face absentmindedly, hands resting on his hips. Roxas rests his keyblade on his shoulder and nods.

“Well, Xion and I can start on getting that freed up for you! Axel can call Ienzo and Vexen in the meantime!” Roxas looks to his friends with a smile, “Sound good?” Xion grins and summons her own keyblade with a bounce in her step. Axel gives a thumbs up then glances to Demyx.

“Might as well do what you’re best at and sit down for a bit. Try not to stress in the meantime.”

“A-Alright… Just be  _ careful _ with my sitar, please. It’s the best thing I’ve got.”

“We will only break a few strings--OW!” Roxas yelps as Xion elbows him before giving Demyx a smile and a nod. 

~~~~~

“Have your eyes always held a hint of green to them, Demyx?” Even mumbles as he shines his small flashlight in Demyx’s eyes. Said eye starts to water as Demyx tries not to struggle under the scientist’s grip. His throat is dry, yet he couldn’t name why. Even finally lets go for a second and Demyx relaxes, holding a hand over his eye as he blinks them back to normal. He stumbles over his words, mind split and focusing on too many things at once.

“Uhhh… I mean they’re  _ teal. _ So  _ yeah. _ ” He rubs his temple, looking up to Even with a ‘so what’ type look. “Teal or… Light greenish blue I guess… The color looks different depending on my clothes--you know how it is.” He sits back. “What’s my eyes gotta do with all the ice and water problems, man?” He complains. Even ignores him as he makes a note in his phone. He crouches down once again and gestures for Demyx to lean forward again. The young man crosses his arms and doesn’t move. 

“ _ Just let me look, idiot.” _ He hisses, grabbing his arm and yanking him forward. Demyx yelps and Even flicks on his light again, Demyx falling into it. His pupil dilates and Even’s solid and cool composure drops for a brief second. Demyx quickly relaxes and is filled with worry and confusion at the look. Not good for a scientist to look at you like that. Even blinks then studies him with a new, far more scrutinizing gaze. 

“Is there something the matter…?” Ienzo quietly pipes up from behind Even, momentarily looking up from one of the books he brought. Even lets Demyx go and sighs before shaking his head.

“No. I was merely seeing things. My apologies.” He stuffs the flashlight and Demyx perks up, sitting criss-crossed on the floor. Even rubs a strand of his hair as he thinks. “This is… certainly interesting. You said this has been going on for a few  _ weeks _ now? A month?” He asks and Demyx nods. 

“Yet this was the first time he thought to mention it!” Axel calls behind him as he works on slowly unfreezing a shelf. “This is the first time the ice has been a problem. I don’t even wanna think about looking into the water damage this place has got!” He grins a bit and Demyx laughs nervously.

“Well, the water was easier to work with. I’m  _ used _ to water! It was just a matter of calming down, finding my sitar, and using  _ that _ to suck up all of the water.”

“You can do that? I thought you could only summon water.”

“Huh? Wait, you think I just poofed the water out from thin air?” Demyx laughs a bit, “I’m not  _ that _ good. Sides, why put more effort into wasting magic when there’s water  _ everywhere. _ Even in places like Agrabah it was just a matter of feeling where the water was at! In the desert I would rip it up from underground rivers! It’s why I used geysers first in places like that.” He shrugs, “Had to pull it up. In other places it’s pretty easy to build up enough to fight. It’s in the air, plants, heck our  _ breath! _ Water is everywhere! If I were stronger I could probably even utilize the water in people’s bodies. But uhhh that’s kinda gross so I-I don’t plan on it, heh…” He awkwardly laughs and scratches his neck, “But with clothes or waterlogged floorboards, it’s way easy to just yank it out and send it down, like, the shower drain! Easy-peasy.”

The others share a look, somewhat impressed. So he  _ did _ put a bit of effort into his work. Sure it might have been the easy way out of using more magic, but one would argue that’s pretty tactical. Doesn’t mean being tactical was his intention. Even hums.

“So you  _ do _ have a thought or two rattling around in that empty skull of yours. Mildly impressive. If you think of more,  _ do _ share.” He smiles a bit mischievously and Demyx lets out an awkward laugh. In the meantime Axel perks up and quickly turns around.

He snaps his fingers, “Hey Ev--”

“ _ OH PLEASE DON’T!” _ Even takes a step back in instinct, leaving Axel there awkwardly hovering with his fingers still snapped. Nothing happens though. Even’s face quickly reddens and he loudly coughs, clears his throat, and regains his composure. “ _ Yes, Axel?” _

“... _ Right. _ You use ice magic, can’t you just like,” He awkwardly flicks his hand around then shrugs, “ _ Get rid of all this?” _

“Potentially.”

“Okay cool, so--”

“But it would require an  _ extreme _ amount of focus for me now. As a Somebody once more, my magical capabilities have weakened. So I can either continue attempting to diagnose our resident barely-sentient-water-balloon,  _ or  _ I can clean up this mess, pack my things, and leave. But of course if I do  _ that _ he may just freeze it all over again…” He shrugs, “I do not mind either way, but you only get me here once.”

Axel sighs, rolling his eyes. He throws his hands up and turns back around to the half frozen shelf. “ _ Okay, okay,  _ I get it. Just say ‘No’ next time, I won’t question ya. Sheesh.” He shakes his head and gets back to the tedious work at hand while Even glares at him. 

“ _ Hey hey!  _ Guess what we’ve got!” Roxas slides out into the main room with a grin. He opens his arms wide and presents Xion who skates out, blue sitar on display with a proud gleam in her eyes. The pair giggle a bit and Axel claps as Demyx beams.

“Wow! You actually got it!!”

“And no broken strings either! No bumps, scrapes, or burns!” Xion adds, relaxing a bit as she holds tight to the heavy thing. Roxas grabs one end and helps support the large instrument. She nods in thanks to him. “It took a lot to focus our magic like that though so… Sorry Axel… We’ll rejoin you in a bit.”

Axel waves them off with a smirk, “Oh  _ sure _ you’re sorry! I get it! Leave the poor, old, adult to do all the dirty work.” Axel shrugs and the two laugh a little.

“Come on, you’d pull the same thing on us if it were flipped!” Roxas grins. Axel bobs his head from side to side in consideration then eventually waves them off.

“Ah, whatever. Go rest, dorks. You can pay me back another time.”

The pair nod and scoot over to Demyx carefully handing the sitar to him then sitting down themselves. Demyx visibly relaxes just getting a grip on his instrument and subsequent weapon. Using the dull moment as an opportunity, Ienzo slides on the floor a bit closer to Demyx and taps his arm to catch his attention.

“Are you certain this is the first time you’ve used ice magic to this extent?”

“Yeah. Long as my memory as a Nobody takes me anyways. I dabbled in little stuff for convenience’s sake a few times. But that was like. Making ice cubes. I didn’t ever think I would be able to mess stuff up THIS badly.” He gestures around them and Ienzo nods slowly, flipping through his book with his brows furrowed. Even leans into the conversation, moving back over and crouching down.

“You emphasized that it was your memories as a  _ Nobody. _ Do you honestly not remember if you’ve used magic before that? You obviously have a much higher capacity for it than we  _ imagined. _ Your Somebody’s life may be important in this, so please, tell us everything you know that may relate to this.” Even sits on his knees, pulling out a small notepad and pen as he speaks, attention now focused and intense. Ienzo quietly nods in agreement, and both pairs of eyes shift to the young man. Demyx tenses, but quickly forces himself to take a breath at the look Axel shoots him from the other side of the room. Can’t get prickly now, especially not with Roxas and Xion sitting close too. That’s a surefire way to get on Axel’s bad side. He clears his throat then hesitates.

“That’s… The problem…” Demyx picks at a few strings then shakes his head, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he stares at the ice beneath him. “I’ve never remembered anything.  _ Ever. _ I had no flashes of my old life when in the organization, before we reformed, after the old man died,  _ nada _ . Nothing. I-I _ still _ got nothing..!” He holds his hands up uselessly. 

“Kinda like us…” Roxas mumbles, unsure if he likes the idea that he’s got something in common with the stupid mullet man or not. Demyx shakes his head.

“Kinda, but it’s just as much a mystery to any of you as it is to me… If I  _ try _ to remember--and I  _ have _ \--I’ll start getting somewhere when I get hit with this like…  _ backlash! _ I’ll see a vague image start forming them  _ BAM! _ My vision is flashed with white, my ears start to ring and I get this  _ searing _ fucking headache. It’s like someone is driving an iron skewer in and through my temples. I  _ hate _ it.” He lets out a sigh, a flurry of ice particles being blown out as he does. “Towards the end of my time in both organizations I-I would even get them while sleeping. I’d be dreaming, I guess a memory would try coming back to me, and I would get the same reaction and wake up from it.”

“How did you cope with that?” Even squints at him, momentarily looking up from his notepad. Demyx shrugs.

“I didn’t sleep and didn’t think about it. That’s about the time I became more of a night owl and started napping more in the days. Naps were fine cause I didn’t go into uhhh… Oh what’s it called… The-The  _ deep _ sleep!”

“REM?” Ienzo hums. Demyx snaps, pointing at him with a grin.

“ _ That’s the bitch!” _ He smiles as he finishes up, “It only happened when I went into, like, REM sleep and slept for a long time at once. So! I broke up my sleep cycle and got my sleep by napping throughout the day instead! My performance and whatever suffered, but shit, it was better than whatever those headaches were.” He grips his ankles beneath his sitar, pulling his legs a bit closer, “I assumed when you guys got headaches it was the same,” He nods to Roxas and Xion, who return the gesture, then continues, “but um… Considering how much Even’s got written down on that lil pad of his, I guess that’s not really the case huh?” He lightly jokes, getting small smiles out of the group. Even smiles--a concerned smile--and lightly shakes his head.

“No Demyx, I cannot say I’ve heard of this before. But--”

“It sounds like some sort of magical restriction. A curse or spell of some sort.” Ienzo finishes the thought for him. He promptly claps his book shut and tosses it aside, opting to pick another 2-3 out of the satchel he brought. He licks a finger and starts flipping through the pages of these new, far more familiar looking books. Despite his switch back into the sciences, it’s not surprising to see Ienzo has kept a few old spell-books on him. His eyes flick up beneath his overgrown bangs, “How would you describe your memories? Is there a feeling you could associate with how they sit in your mind, despite being inaccessible?”

“Uhhh…” Demyx clicks his tongue, scrunching up his face in thought. “I guess it’s like… They’re  _ there. _ I  _ know _ they are, but it’s like they’re stuck behind this thick, hazy fog. I don’t know how else I’d put it.”

“I see…” Ienzo frowns, skipping through a large chunk of the first book and flipping through admittedly more intimidating pages. “It sounds like something a bit more intricate than what we typically use for magic. Most likely it was enacted via a keyblade, but now two key questions remain; Who did it, and why?” Ienzo rests his forefinger on his lips as he thinks hard. Demyx gets nervous, but he can’t exactly say why. Those are some heavy questions to lay on him when all he’s got is an Elsa Condition.

“What do you--..?” He mumbles, a bit afraid to even ask. Ienzo sighs.

“It’s something serious and something  _ strong _ to have lasted so long and also having lasted your transition to a nobody  _ twice. _ It could potentially be self-inflicted but considering your lack of a keyblade and… Well… Relative lack of involvement with most of what we’ve been fighting, it’s hard to figure a reason why your old somebody would have done that. Nor do you strike me as someone who’d dabble in much outside of elemental magic, no offense…”

Demyx blows out a breath and smiles, hands up, “ _ Trust me,  _ none taken. That stuff is  _ way _ over my head.” He runs a stressed hand through his hair just glancing at the book.

“So then we must assume someone else casted it. But why?” 

“Sounds like someone didn’t want you talkin’ about somethin’!” Axel calls back from his slowly thawing corner of the room. He garners a few looks but just shrugs with a smile. “If someone’s holding sensitive info, the best ways to shut them up are to kill ‘em, or get rid of that info somehow. Er… Not to get morbid, but that’s kinda just how it is, yknow? And I mean,” he turns around fully now, leaning against the wall, “Let’s look at what we’ve got here yeah? Dem’s a nice guy, but a bit spacey. He likes talkin’! It isn’t a bad thing, but if he somehow got a hold on sensitive info, you wouldn’t want him to go babbling about it to just  _ anyone. _ But obviously you’d get a bad rep for just up and killing a pretty easygoing dude for no reason. So? Block out his memories, then give him the ol’ Nobody reset to ensure it’s under lock and key!” He shrugs, “I mean, seems to have worked pretty well too, yeah?”

“Doesn’t explain the ice though.” Roxas looks up at Axel, making the man frown and cross his arms. He nods with a sigh.

“No… Guess it doesn’t.”

“Perhaps not directly, but it might be an addition.” Even taps his pen on air as he speaks, garnering a few looks. Demyx by now is just tired of all this. He just wanted his home to stop being an ice-rink, not some weird psychotherapy session. Even sets his pad and pen down neatly, using his hands to speak with. “If your theory is  _ true,  _ Axel, then in addition to the memory and information itself, one would want to be rid of any connections that his brain encoded. Say for example, I had repressed a memory of losing a balloon as a child. Some actions I may associate with that memory would be staring to the sky, or reaching up to grab something in a hurry—similar to trying to grab said balloon. The brain activates memories if actions correspond enough. Therefore, perhaps, many of Demyx’s own abilities were repressed along with those memories.”

“Okay then why’s this magic fiasco happening  _ now? _ If I don’t remember  _ how _ to do it, then I shouldn’t be  _ able _ to do it, yeah?” Demyx rubs his forehead a bit. Even shakes his head.

“This is… as much as I  _ despise _ admitting it, relatively  _ powerful _ magic that you are using. It’s very tightly in-tune with your emotional state. At this point I’d say it’s more  _ muscle _ memory than literal thought. I’m sure you’ve gone through this before, but without the memories of how you learned to control it, your powers are unhinged.”

“So basically, I’m fucked?”

“Essentially for the moment.”

“ _ Great.” _ Demyx grits his teeth as he says it. He clenches his fists slightly at his sides then sighs. Sitting back, the group feels lost as the silence befalls them. Not exactly a great diagnosis. Demyx crosses his arms a bit, uncomfortable. “So what’s the next step, huh? Do I get to be quarantined or somethin’ until you find some way to undo the thing on my memories?”

Even sighs. “Preferably not. It would be no fair to you if there were other ways to help you in the meantime, which I’m sure there are. I believe more time and research is in need before we can figure out what’s ailing you and further how to reverse it. Until then, you’ll need to find a way to control your powers.” He claps his notebook shut as he says it matter-of-factly. Demyx grimaces.

“How am I supposed to do  _ that?” _

“Don’t ask me! I’m a scientist, not a life-advisor.” He shrugs then gets back up, rolling his shoulders. “However, if you end up having any  _ physical _ reactions as time goes on,  _ do _ come and see us in the lab if at all possible. I have a feeling that those headaches may start occuring again, as sorry as I am to say.”

“You don’t sound very sorry.”

“ _ Anyways, _ you know where to find us. If you end up changing your place of residency at some point in your…  _ journey _ of getting those powers to work, also let us know in case a housecall is ever needed.”

“Yeah… Okay. Thanks,  _ Doc.” _ Demyx responds half-heartedly. He just shakes his head and waves him off, “Thanks for coming Vex--er,  _ Even.  _ I ‘ppreciate it. Don’t slip on the way out.” He forces a smile and Even nods. He glances to Ienzo who silently motions for him to head out--he’ll be there in a second. With his work done, Even waves to the others and walks out--slipping on the ice quite ungracefully and rushing out the door with a yelp. The group stifles their laughs and he returns for a second to glare at them all. Once he disappears again Ienzo taps Demyx on the arm.

“You will get through this. Despite what it seems, there  _ are _ people on your side. I will work alongside Even to continue researching the experiences you’ve reported. As for learning to work with your powers I wish I had some immediate solution but I do not. Perhaps I have some books that may help back home… I will check for you.”

“Sheesh, thanks Ienzo, I really appreciate that. Hopefully I won’t turn any books you hand me into ice blocks or soggy messes…” He rubs the back of his neck and Ienzo pauses in thought.

“I can arrange protections on any I find. But honestly I believe the best thing for you may be finding some _ one _ that could help guide you. I-I would offer but my magic is less elemental… I do not know if the same tricks and tips would apply. Perhaps you could ask Sora or others if they know anyone. It may be more difficult without a keyblade but considering you still have your sitar there must be  _ something _ you could do…” He gets quieter as he finishes, but remains just as focused. Demyx nods.

“I’ll consider it. Thanks Ienzo.”

“Yes, I do hope it does not worsen from here.” He sighs and stands. “If you have your sitar, do you think you can keep this place from freezing over again?”

“I can  _ try…? _ No promises though…”

Axel grins, “Don’t worry, we’ll babyproof the place for him!”

“ _ Aw come on, man.” _ Demyx complains and Ienzo softly laughs into his hand. Axel shrugs but doesn’t even bother to hide his smile.

“ _ Desperate times call for desperate measures, water-boy.” _ He gives a playful wink and Demyx rolls his eyes but can’t help the stressed chuckle that forces its way out of him. Roxas perks up.

“Hey, do you think Aqua could help?” He looks to Axel curiously.

“ _ Master Aqua?” _ Axel scratches the back of his head in thought and purses his lips. After some time he nods. “I mean,  _ probably. _ She’s a keyblade Master and a pretty good one, and water and blizzard magic seems to be her whole M.O.” He shrugs, “It’s as good of a shot as any! What do you say Dem?”

Demyx blinks. 

“I… I-I mean I’ve never really  _ met _ her outside of hearing you guys talk about her. A-And I dunno! Being a keyblade master and all, she’s probably pretty busy. I don’t wanna be an extra  _ burden _ , yknow?”

“Well, no offense buddy, but you’re not exactly gonna get better just sitting here turning the place into an igloo. It’ll just cause more trouble if we don’t try  _ something.” _ He rests his hands on his hips, “Look, I’m not gonna stand around here and badger you into answering, but consider it at  _ least _ , and get back to us in say…” He holds up a hand, looking up aimlessly as he thinks, “three days!” He drops his arm back to his side with a shrug. “Consider it. See what Even and Ienzo come back with in the meantime, then hit us up when you’ve got an idea!” He whips out his phone and shows it off for emphasis. He chuckles a bit, “I  _ know _ you know how to get a hold of me. You demonstrated that  _ real well _ this morning.”

“ _ Yeah I guess I spammed you a bit…” _ Demyx laughs, rubbing his neck with a dopey grin. 

“ _A bit?_ _Yeah_ , okay.” Axel crosses his arms and the others laugh with him. Axel glances to Ienzo and flicks his hand at him, “You don’t gotta loiter here much longer, man. If anything changes I’ll call you but I think we got a plan in order! Even’s probably ‘bout to pop his top so probably don’t wanna keep him waiting much longer.”

Ienzo smiles, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter before he nods. “Will do. Thank you Axel.” He turns to Demyx, Roxas and Xion on the floor. “Roxas, Xion, thank you for helping here. Demyx, I will continue searching for any materials that may assist you. I will text you when they’re ready to be picked up. I hope you don’t have any more troubles today.” He carefully moves back to the door, sliding a bit awkwardly in the doorway. “Um, I will see you all another time! Take care.” He nods and waves to the group, who return the gesture before turning and leaving. A hint of Even’s voice can be heard as the pair leave the hallway before dying out completely.

Demyx lets out a groan once they’re completely gone and rubs his face with both of his hands. They’re still cold to the touch as he does so. Xion reaches over and gingerly pats him on the shoulder. He smiles a tired smile at the gesture and holds a thumbs up. He’ll get through it. He glances around the apartment--still icy but at least a little bit less so. He looks to Axel who had already gotten back to work.

“If you guys wanna leave, honestly you can. It’s been a heck of a day.”

“Maybe for you!” Axel snorts, “You’ve gone through some soul searching, all I’ve done is melt furniture! It’s tedious at worst and mundane at best.” He glances back, “It’d go faster if I had  _ help! _ Come on, I’m sure you guys got some magic back in you by now!”

Roxas and Xion laugh with each other then finally get back up. Roxas stretches his back and Xion slides over to the area by the door.

“I’ll get to work over here. I think we’ve seen enough slip-ups.”

“I dunno… Seeing Axel fall again would be pretty funny.” Roxas snickers and Axel raises a brow.

“ _ Oh is that so, huh? Alright, I’ve got your number. There’ll be retribution for that one.” _ He reaches over and ruffles Roxas’ hair, ruining it. The teen yells a quick  _ ‘HEY!’  _ and tries smacking his hand away, only to be met with laughter. Axel grin and slaps him on the back then points him in a direction to start thawing. “Hey Dem, we’re gonna stick around for just a bit and help finish this up, but--and I can’t believe I’m asking this--it’d be  _ nice _ if we had something to listen to as we work.” He awkwardly shrugs and turns half way to look at him, “Think you can play somethin’? Might help you relax as well.”

“O-Oh! _ Yeah _ of course! Let me tune this thing real quick.” He excitedly nods and gets to work on his sitar while Axel turns back around. Quietly he adds, “And…  _ Thanks _ for this guys… Seriously.”


	2. Larxene is like "So tell me your trauma" as she pops a soda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late Night chats in the Original Organization were pretty common if you were one of the night owls, but "late night chat" and "late night interrogation" are thin lines apart. Basically Larxene acts as a bratty little sister and gets some #DemyxLore while trying to keep up her "I hate you" attitude. Spoiler alert: it's hard.
> 
> Also Luxord pranks Dem lol get dunked on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kinda sloppy and Im not sure how I feel abt it much anymore but I like Demyx and Larxene's squabbling too much not to add it in. It initially was written with a different idea for Demyx and his memories in mind but then I changed half way thru LMAO whoops

Late night snacks were common to a few members of the Organization in particular. Vexen and Zexion--the scientists with no sense of self preservation, Axel--the man who dealt with the dirty work no matter the hour, Xigbar who was…  _ Xigbar. _ The Superior (or King Freak) and his right hand whose dark circles made his glares even more menacing, then lastly, there were the two with not much of a reason to be up at such ungodly hours, Luxord--the gambler and night owl, and Demyx who was seemingly in the same boat. 

Tonight was no different than any other honestly. Sleep wouldn’t come so stressing about it would just cause more problems than it was worth. That’s how it’s been for as long as he could remember and he stopped fighting it a long time ago. Keep your hands and mind busy and things will be so much easier. His mind is hazy as random thoughts dance about while he hums quietly to himself at the counter. He wasn’t really hungry per se, so what do they even have to drink these days? He didn’t really have something to work on so the probably cold pot of coffee wasn’t an option. He squints to himself, drumming his fingers on the countertop in thought before he pushes off and slips over to the fridge.

He blows a loud sigh out at the lack of anything interesting. His hand hovers in the fridge over the classic orange juice-- _ Vexen always insisted on the stuff. _ He grabs the neck of the plastic bottle then pauses a moment… before shoving it to the side and nabbing the bottle behind it. He grunts as he stands straight again and examines the bottle more closely. An ear grating sound stops him before he gets very far however.

“ _ Wow! _ I knew you were  _ stupid _ but stealing some of  _ Luxord’s stash? _ That’s just asking to be killed!”

An ear grating  _ person, _ rather. It takes all of his self restraint to not bite back at Larxene. He sucks in a long, steadying breath before turning to Larxene with a pleasant smile and nonchalant shrug. He bumps the fridge closed behind him as Larxene scoffs in condescending amusement. 

“Finally realize this place isn’t for numbskulls like yourself? If so, come  _ on _ , this is  _ the _ most pathetic way to finish it off! Piss drunk with Luxord on your tail! Now  _ that _ will be a sight.” She snickers to herself and waits for a reaction from him. Instead she’s met with nothing but the sound of a metal cap dropping onto the counter, and the drink being poured. The humming’s still there, which means he’s just… Blatantly ignoring her. She frowns and pushes off the doorway and walks over to him, smacking him on the arm. “Hey  _ stupid, _ I’m talking to you.”

“Dont ya gotta get sleep or something?” Demyx graces a side glance at her, “You get the early missions along with Marly, right?” 

She blinks in mild surprise then hardens that look again into a glare. “I think I can handle my own sleep schedule,  _ thank you very much. _ And don’t change the subject!” She crosses her arms and Demyx can’t stop the small snicker that escapes him. She jabs him, “Why are  _ you _ even up  _ anyways? _ What makes you think you can drill me when you’re doing the same thing, hypocrite.”

“It’s normal for me to be up around now!” He shrugs with another smile and moves back to the fridge to put the bottle away. He pauses, then holds it up to her in offering. She scrunches up her nose and rolls her eyes to the heavens. He continues as he puts it away, “I always keep odd hours. Can’t sleep so why bother trying, yknow?” He points inside the fridge, “Sure ya don’t want anything? Or did you see me in here and just come to bully me?”

She sticks her tongue out at him and walks over to the fridge, pushing him aside. She pulls out a soda and pops it open--always a satisfying fizz. Silence fills the room again as Demyx moves past her and back to his little glass. She watches him closely, something not sitting quite right in her stomach. Demyx turns to lean against the counter like her and take a sip when he takes notice of her staring. He laughs out of nervousness.

“Woah, what’s with the look? I know you like picking on me but sheesh, just ‘cause you had a nightmare doesn’t mean I should be your personal punching bag.”

“ _I’m not--!_ _Ugh..._ You talk way too much for your own good.”

“Well I’m not a mind reader! If I don’t guess a lot then how am I ever supposed to figure out what’s happening? Not like anyone ever tells me anything!”

“I wonder why.”

He just shrugs in return, rather half heartedly now. He finally takes a first sip of his drink and is immediately thrown into a coughing fit over it. It startles Larxene at first before she just starts laughing. Demyx restrains himself from slamming the glass down on thr counter and just focuses on getting the little fit over with.

“Oh come on, you can’t even swallow your liquor??”

“He--” He punches himself in the chest, “ _ No. But he switched what was in the bottle!” _ He half heartedly laughs through his hacking, face red. “ _ Burns. Definitely not something to just down. Oww…” _ He sniffles a bit, wiping his eyes and nose with his sleeve.

“Hmph! Serves you right!” She smirks to herself as Demyx slowly recollects himself. She stares down into her soda can, the drink slowly getting warmer the longer she waits. She swishes it around in the can, not really sure what’s keeping her from drinking it. After a good minute or so of silence she picks the conversation back up with a mumble, “What’d you mean earlier…?” 

“Huh?” Demyx stares at her blankly. “Whaddaya mean? I don’t remember what I said…”

She rolls her eyes, “Really making me do everything…” She sighs then shrugs, “Said you couldn’t sleep, so why bother trying. What do you mean ‘why bother’? I mean, you’d much rather sleep than do your work during the  _ day. _ You obviously like sleeping, so what’s that supposed to mean?”

Demyx is caught off guard by the question, but caught off guard in a different way. He tenses in a way that makes his mouth twitch towards a frown. Eventually he just smiles.

“I mean what I said. If sleep isn’t gonna come peacefully, then why bother! I’ll be in a better state sleep deprived than--..!” He stops himself mid-sentence, stopping himself from oversharing like he’d typically do. He doesn’t want to share that. That’s off limits.  _ Especially _ not with  _ Larxene _ . But it’s too late, he’s opened his mouth and can tell she’s already interested. He’s not getting off the hook of this one easily.

“Than…? What?”

“Um…” He scratches the back of his head then offers a lopsided grin, “Well, it’s nothin’ to worry about really! It’s just…” He picks up his glass again and swishes the drink around, “It’s just me being stupid. Overreacting. You know how it is..!” He chuckles but it’s not convincing as usual.

“For someone who can’t feel emotion it must be bad enough that it gets you drinking.”

“Wh-- You assuming I do this  _ often?” _ He begins to laugh at the suggestion. Larxene doesn’t budge.

“It’s apparently happened enough that Luxord switched what bottle his drinks were in. That’s a lot of extra trouble. It means  _ someone _ was getting into his stash just often enough to annoy him!”

He scoffs, “ _ Okay detective. _ Look, I can take care of myself just fine! So just go do whatever it is you…  _ do…” _ He waves her off. She scoffs and instead of leaving she sets her pop down and hops up onto the counter, sitting down for the long haul. Demyx finally deflates, sighing and rolling his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. She raises an eyebrow.

“Haven’t seen  _ that _ look on you before. You could pull it off real well with some practice.”

“Hardy-har.”

“So?”

“Fine! Fine! Your funeral I guess, prepared to be like, super bored.” He shrugs and takes a second, more careful sip. The worst reaction this time around is a slight clearing of the throat. Interesting. Larxene scrutinizes him internally for it--what a way to flip on a dime. He continues,  “I can’t really  _ remember _ things easily… Or at all--”

“Please tell me something I  _ don’t _ already know.” She interrupts, earning a hard glare from him. She squints then shakes her hand, “Still gotta work on your stink eye. That was about a 5 at best.” With that he deflates and just continues.

“Whatever. I just can’t remember things well except when they come to me through weird dream amalgamations. Bad experience, yknow?”

“Can’t relate.”

Demyx rolls his eyes and she reaches out to smack his arm. He shoves her off and they stick their tongues out at each other like children. He takes another small sip then shrugs.

“So! That’s pretty much it! Like I said, pretty uneventful compared to the stories of some of the other guys here.” He absentmindedly twirls one of his loose hairs as he says it. Larxene hums, thinking then clicks her tongue and shakes her head.

“Nope. Not good enough.”

“Er… What?” He stumbles over himself a second. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Larxene kicks her legs as she sits on the countertop. “You’re holding out on me…!~” She turns a bit more serious. “I mean… I get waking up uncomfortable is an annoyance, but you can endure that. Especially without those emotions! I mean, come on, what does the past matter? It doesn’t define us anymore, so,” She sets down her can, “You must be seeing some really horrible things… What’s going on in that head of yours, Nocturne?” Green eyes flick his way, drilling into him. But for once there’s something else behind them. Something… Something that feigns something similar to concern…? That’s uncharacteristic.

Demyx bites his cheek, not hesitating to hide his suspicion with one eyebrow raised high. Slowly, he sets down his shot glass, it clinking on the counter. He then rests a hand on the counter, rests the other on his hip and lets out a controlled sigh as he tries figuring her out.

“Alright. What’s the catch here. What’s up with you?”

“I…” Now it was her turn to be confused. She actually laughs, “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Who sent you in here to interrogate me? How much are you getting paid for this, man?” He blows out an exasperated sigh, taking a step back and running a hand through his hair. She sits there, staring at him in ticked off bewilderment. He shrugs, “ _ What? _ Do you honestly blame me? You don’t care about me, you don’t even  _ like _ me! I’m not offended by it, but, like, those are the  _ facts! _ People don’t tell me things nor do they ask me anything, so I’m  _ sorry _ if I find it  _ slightly _ weird that the person who hates me most is suddenly trying to act as some sort of  _ therapist. _ ” He waves her off in dismissal, picking his glass back up and taking another small sip as he gains some space between them. 

“ _ Oh my god would you just--!” _ She gets off the counter and marches over to him, stealing the small glass out of his hand. He yells in protest but is cut off, “ _ STOP  _ with this  _ shit!” _

“You are  _ seriously _ overreacting. It. is. A.  _ Single. _ Shot.”

“It’d be better if it were a single shot over some stupid poker game with Luxord than this.” She huffs and moves over to the sink where she goes to pour out the last little bit then pauses. She swishes around the last little sip then glances back to Demyx and meets him in the eye as she dumps it in the sink, unwavering. 

“Careful now. Keep this up and someone might think you actually  _ cared.” _ Demyx hisses, finally fed up and turning to leave. Larxene strides across the room and cuts him off, arms crossed.

“This isn’t like you. Now you can think whatever you want, but I want an explanation or  _ I’m _ going to tell Superior.  _ Try _ using that pathetic little brain of yours for a moment and decide who would be easier to share this with!”

“You are like. A  _ witch. _ But a  _ five year old witch.” _

“Then go ahead and go tell Xemnas yourself about all your woes and sorrows!” She clasps her hands dramatically, then grins. Demyx lets out the longest, whiniest sigh of the night as he leans back on his heels. 

Eventually, “ _ Fine.” _

“ _ About time!” _ She laughs and kicks out a chair from the nearby table, pointing to it. Demyx slowly trudges over and drops into it, arms crossed. She snickers and retrieves her soda from the counter before sitting down across from him. She clasps her hands on the table in mock-therapist fashion. “ _ So……….. Where did it all begin……………………….” _

“Ew. Don’t even joke.”

“You’re boring.” She huffs, “Just start rambling, idiot. It’s what you’re good at and it might make you feel better. A cat nap tonight is better than nothing. So, what’s keeping you up?” She shrugs and finally starts drinking her soda, leaving the floor to Demyx who awkwardly shifts in his chair. Not what he figured tonight was gonna be like, but okay I guess.

“Well first off, you’re insufferable and the thing of nightmares, so that’s something that probably adds to it.” He shrugs casually and she nods slowly, knowingly. He continues, “Um but… No it just has to with old life stuff I guess. I just… I get these nightmares a lot, but they’re less my mind making up weird shit like spider-clowns or whatever and lately more just attempts to dig my memories back out. I’ve  _ got _ my memories like some other organization members, but  _ unlike _ them I can’t do crap to actually  _ remember them!” _ He shrugs, throwing his hands up in disbelief. 

“Don’t even know how to remember things. Guess that explains some things.” She prods and Demyx smiles bitterly.

“It’s just the stuff from before I was a Nobody. At least, I’m pretty sure… I honestly don’t even know at this point. It’s weird. All I’ve ever  _ known _ though is the Organization. Even if I’ve got these other things in my head it’s not like they even  _ belong _ to me anymore! So kind of sucks but whatever I guess.”

“And that’s it? That’s what keeps you up?”

Demyx shifts awkwardly then shakes his head. “Well…  _ No. _ I’ve obviously wanted and  _ tried _ to remember things before. I’ve spent hours laying in bed trying to get rid of that stupid fogginess, but every time I get a  _ split second _ look of something, it’s drowned out from me screaming bloody murder from the pain that stabs into my temples immediately after. My vision goes white, my ears ring so loud I can’t tell I’m screaming until my throat hurts or I start coughing. Then afterwards I’m left with a really bad migraine and just  _ zero _ energy.” He laughs a bit, trying to lighten the mood, but Larxene’s look is unsettling. There’s a tinge of horror in her eyes. He awkwardly drums his knuckles on the table with a smile and just continues, “Lately, for some reason, I’ve been starting to see bits and pieces while I’m  _ asleep, _ and I’ll just wake up with the same reaction and pain. I-It would only happen when I was in like, a  _ deep _ sleep though. So I’ve switched to napping periodically.” He shrugs with a light laugh. “So uhh… There. That’s what keeps me up I guess. There’s… really not that much else.”

“Your performance is suffering because of those naps you know… People are  _ talking. _ You  _ know _ what they do with useless members, right?” She lowers her voice, barely above a whisper even though they’re alone. Her green eyes are hardened with an unidentifiable emotion--if they even have those anyways. Demyx, a weight seemingly taken off his shoulders after talking about it, is moreso back to his normal chipper self. He smiles.

“You forget that I’ve been in this place longer than you have! I know. I remember how this works. But even then, I’d rather be axed by Axel than deal with  _ that _ each night. Sides, if I’m whole again maybe it’ll all come back to me…!” He sits up in his seat finally. “You never know.”

“You’re stupid. You’re so incredibly dumb and I cannot believe it.”

“Ha! Watch out, you’re really starting to sound like you care there!” He leans on the table, “Gotta keep up that steelheart reputation!” He holds her gaze for a second more than he should’ve, emphasizing his words. Both a warning and a reminder. Axel and Roxas were already getting bad looks and harsher words for getting so buddy-buddy. Gotta stay professional. With that he gets up, stretching his shoulders and arms then giving Larxene a childish grin and thumbs up. “Thanks for the chat. I’m gonna actually head out now though.”

“ _ You--!” _ She’s taken slightly aback by the sudden curve in the conversation but clamps her mouth shut. She got her answer and he seemingly felt better, she shouldn’t push it. Gotta keep her reputation. She crosses her arms, piercing gaze not budging. “Actually  _ sleep _ instead of playing that damn sitar all night and sleeping on the job.”

“No promises! Don’t get a sugarhigh from that soda.”

“I’m not  _ five.” _

“Coulda fooled me!” He shrugs with a grin, turning his back to her and leaving the room. He waves in greeting to someone in the hall then disappears from view. Axel however comes into sight. For some reason it runs a chill down Larxene’s spine, but he seemed pretty tired as he came in. She doesn’t show anything and merely waggles her fingers in greeting as she sips her soda. He only caught the tail-end of their conversation if they’re lucky, and Demyx surviving this long here shows he’s full of the stuff. She silently cheers to that, tossing the empty can out soon after.


	3. "This aint it Chief"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demyx gets some weird memories while visiting the Land of Departure ruh roh what's up with THAT 
> 
> Spooky shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back in the present because I dont know what a timeline is lol   
> Smaller one but a fun one! I dont rlly know what all to say?  
> Demyx and Aqua is an underrated dynamic and you KNOW I am going to explore this more--Dem with any of the keyblade masters from the Land of Departure has a surprising amount of stuff to play with! He and Terra post Org, Aqua and him with water magic and probably learning again about keyblades, then he and Ven not knowing who they are or where they're from SDKJFSKLF Amnesiac squad!!!

Clanging. Dry arid desert. Red rock rising up on all sides. Dust being kicked up as panic and adrenaline nearly hurts in his veins. A clang of metal-- _contact,_ then a flash. A beautiful town, flourishing and full of color. Children run free, led by their peers only a few years older than them. Peaceful, yet deep in his chest resounds an intense sense of terror and dread. Something is coming--Darkness is coming. What does that mean? Things are moving too fast. They’re incomprehensible. What is he seeing? A war? There’s so many books. Why does his chest hurt with betrayal? The keyblade is always there and always watching. That _eye._ _It hurts to think. It hurts to_ ** _see._** There’s a sound, a ringing in his ear? 

Wait! Don’t go! There’s still more to see! Stop ringing, it’s blurring things too much! What was he seeing again? But that ringing won’t let up, instead growing louder and louder as his vision goes white. It shifts.

“ _ Are you  _ **_okay?_ ** _ ” _

He wakes up, stumbling back from where he stood. Blue eyes blink quickly as the young man regains himself. He looks down at the ancient keyblade in his hands, the weight oddly familiar. It makes his throat run dry. There’s that sound again though, clearer.

“ _ Are you okay, kid?” _

Oh! It was just a voice. He looks up to the two keyblade masters now at his side, Terra resting a hand on his arm and Aqua ready to move if need be. Both look concerned. Where was he again? Oh, right, they were meeting up upon finding this keyblade again. He wasn’t supposed to come along but happened to be stuck with Axel, Roxas and Xion when the call came in. Figured it’d be safer to keep an eye on him that way than to leave him alone--plus it’d be a good time for proper introductions.

Demyx turns around fully and nods, holding the keyblade out for them to take back. His face is a blank slate, sending a chill down the pair’s spines. His hands shake as he holds out the keyblade despite the lack of an emotional response--he doesn’t seem aware of it. Terra goes to take the keyblade from him only to be stopped by Aqua gently holding a hand against his chest. She takes a step closer to Demyx and puts the back of her hand to his forehead. He blinks, slightly cocking his head to the side.

“What? Did something happen?”

“You became unresponsive… Like a trance. Are you feeling alright?”

“I…” Truth be told he didn’t feel anything at the moment. His chest was empty. How would he answer that truthfully? His eyes were cloudy still, but alert. It was different. He looks around the room, taking in everything and everyone. The people he came with--Axel, Xion and Roxas. Then there was Sora, Riku and Kairi, Ventus hanging out by them. His gaze lingers on Ventus a moment but he couldn’t say why. People were staring now though, and he’s starting to realize it. His friends, ex coworkers, new acquaintances. With that thought finally dawning on him, nervousness--and  _ everything else-- _ fully returns to him. He gasps and his knees nearly buckle again as he quickly grips the heavy keyblade tighter as not to drop it. A whoosh of small ice and water particles shoot out across the ground as he does. The two keyblade masters take a slight step back then relax as nothing more happens. Demyx squints in confusion at the lack of a reaction. He’s gotten used to his rampant powers by now, and that should’ve led to the entire floor at  _ least _ getting a cool glowing layer of ice. He instinctively grips the blade tighter, holding it close to his chest. Aqua and Terra hurry forward again to support him by the shoulders.

“Easy there… Breathe a little…” Aqua quietly murmurs and nods to Terra. The brown haired man gently reaches over and places his hand on the hilt of the ancient keyblade. Demyx gets nervous and spits out a hurried apology, shoving the old thing back into his hands and quickly stepping back with his hands up and eyes wide.

“S-Sorry! I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to keep it like that.”

“It’s alright.” Aqua pats him on the shoulder then looks back to her partner, “We may not want to pass that around anymore, Terra.”

He nods in turn and Ventus deflates, Roxas doing the same--neither got their turn to hold it. Aqua smiles sympathetically.

“Sorry boys… Another time.” She walks over and ruffles Ven’s hair as Roxas crosses his arms, Axel giving him a hearty pat on the shoulder. Demyx wanders forward, courage starting to well up out of nowhere.

“I saw something.”

There’s a pause, a brief silence that falls over the area as the others return their attention to him. He continues. He nervously clasps his hands over his heart, as if it’ll help him remember.

“It… It wasn’t clear but I saw things when I touched that blade. Places, people,  _ experiences? _ There were a lot of emotions and things happening in a flash. I-It went so fast! I don’t know how I’d begin to describe everything--there were so many thoughts and words and feelings mixed in…” He shakes his head, trailing off. He gets a chill--a rare occurrence--and rubs his arms. “It was freaky though, I can tell ya that…”

“Saw something…?” Aqua repeats quietly, glancing to Terra who just shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders.

“Nothing like that ever happened when Xehanort or I grabbed that blade. Not that I’m aware of. He would’ve brought it up in some form if it did, I’m sure of it.” Terra crosses his arms and Aqua nods in thought. 

“I don’t remember Master Eraqus ever mentioning keyblades eliciting that kind of response anyways, or having their own memories either…” She sighs, “Then again this is an odd blade, perhaps it has properties the others don’t.”

“Well Dem’s also been having some weird memory and power resurgences lately.” Axel pipes up, stepping forward. Aqua’s eyes widen.

“You mean he hasn’t gotten his normal memories back yet?”

Axel rubs his neck and Demyx answers for him. “I’ve never been able to remember any of my life before the Organization. Even after reforming twice, there’s still nothing. Not when I’m a Nobody nor when I’m a whole Somebody. I-I’ve talked with Even and Ienzo about it and we think it might be some kind of magic or somethin’...” He blows out an annoyed sigh and shrugs, “Whatever it is, I can’t remember anything without a really bad physical reaction.”

“Are you alright now?” Terra places a hand on his arm, concerned, and Demyx nods.

“Y-Yeah! I’m pretty normal now. This was different in a way. No headache this time and my powers didn’t freak out in response either. Maybe it was because I was still hanging onto the keyblade or somethin’ but I dunno. But anyways um, things have started getting more dicey cause while  _ I’m _ not remembering anything, my body is..? So like, my reflexes are changing, there’s obviously the thing with my powers, reaction time, hell even my handwriting is starting to change! I don’t even notice until it’s pointed out. But even with that I still…” He shrugs, “I still got nothing in terms of who I am--or  _ was. _ Everything is a hazy mess…” He shakes his head and drops his gaze to the ground. Axel clears his throat and brings back the original topic.

“ _ So _ , maybe this was just one of those weird memory triggers. One that was associated with the feeling of holding a keyblade. This  _ is _ the first one you’ve held, right?” Axel points to the old thing and Demyx nods. He then grins, “Well, then I think you’ve just got a lot of stuff associated with feeling that kind of weight in your hands! Ienzo and Even said it was a lot of muscle memory that’s triggering things, yeah? And since we don’t know for certain  _ when _ you’re from, you coulda easily been around the same time ol’ Marly and Larxene were! Heh, that’d sure be a sight!”

“Your point being…?” Roxas mumbles in confusion.

“Well I don’t think it’s  _ this _ keyblade in particular, yknow? That keyblade is  _ ancient _ ancient, right? Can’t easily see it belonging to  _ Dem. _ And I mean if nobody else has had any freaky flashbacks from touching it, then I think it’s safe to say it’s just coincidence and bad timing on Dem’s memory. At least for now.” He rubs his neck then catches Demyx’s attention. “You got anything you wanna add though?”

“I dunno… I don’t even really know what I saw. I need time to process on my own.” He pauses then hesitates, “If that’s  _ alright _ , anyways…” He mumbles, looking uncertainly to Aqua. She hums in thought, not wanting this to just be dropped and forgotten but not wanting to push. 

“He can stay on the island for the meantime.” Riku’s voice pipes up. “We’re already hosting Lauriam and Elrena, we might as well take in another one. Especially if what Axel mentioned ends up being true, in regards to what time he’s from. They might even be able to help.”

Demyx stands there surprised, unsure though. “I-It’s alright. I still don’t know how my powers are working and being on an  _ island _ surrounded by  _ water?  _ May not be the best idea.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets and Riku nods in thought. There’s a brief silence as everyone considers the situation. Axel catches Demyx’s eye and jerks his head towards Aqua. Demyx tenses up, suddenly remembering what he agreed to consider. He grimaces but Axel doesn’t let up. Demyx in turn shuts his eyes tight and whines internally before sucking in a breath and turning to Aqua. He stands tall and clears his throat, trying to be polite as possible. Aqua blinks and turns to him curiously.

“Do you have an idea?”

“Somethin’ like that… I think…” He laughs a bit out of nervousness. He swallows, throat dry, “Even and Ienzo when they saw me the other day recommended that I find someone that may be able to help me with my magic. They would have but they’re more uhh…” He smiles slightly, “They’re more  _ science geeks _ now than prime magic users. They  _ can _ but didn’t think they’d really be of much help…” He grips his hands absentmindedly, “ _ You _ , personally, were brought up since water and ice kinda seems to be your forte… I-I know I don’t exactly have a keyblade but--”

Aqua smiles sympathetically, “Would you like me to try and help teach you how to control your magic?”

Demyx clamps his rambling mouth shut, going a bit red then just nodding. “Y-Yes ma’am! If you  _ can _ that is! I-I don’t wanna take up too much time or be a burden, you’re busy I’m sure.” 

“Well, that’s apart of the job, but I do think this is important enough for me to allocate some time for it. If you stick around you could tell Terra and I about what you saw later, too.” She smiles and Demyx nods seriously. She pauses, glancing away in thought then looks to him seriously. “How serious are your troubles with your magic?”

“ _ Well…” _ He says with a nervous grin, hair falling into his face. “It’s been getting worse these past few weeks or months. Slowly but steadily. I could keep it under wraps though since it was just water until the other day.” He puffs one cheek in mild annoyance but also goes red from the embarrassment of it. “I stubbed my toe on the table and-- _ out of sheer reaction-- _ I froze over  _ everything _ in my apartment.”

“ _ Oh!” _ Aqua blinks, mildly surprised. “...  _ Thick _ coat of ice?”

“In some places more than others, yes.” He blows out a halfhearted sigh. He perks up slightly and anxiously rubs his jaw, “That’s the reason people  _ know. _ Any effort I made to  _ unfreeze _ everything just made it  _ worse. _ I called up Axel to help dethaw everything and then  _ he _ called Even and Ienzo!”

“ _ Cause he was too stupid to call them himself!” _ Axel calls, butting in. 

“That’s not  _ exactly _ how it went.” Demyx rests his hands on his hips and Aqua smiles, chuckling softly but staying serious. She thinks it all over, nodding quietly to herself. Demyx waits in anxious anticipation. She stands straight and clasps her hands in front of her.

“I’ll have to talk with Terra and Ven a bit, but it sounds more serious than I initially thought. If I can be of any help, I’ll be glad to.  _ But _ you’re gonna have to work hard to gain some control of this. Do you think you’re up to it?” She meets Demyx in the eye with a serious stare. He fidgets under her stare--heart pumping--but is unable to look away. Soon enough his face hardens and he nods.

“ _ Yes. _ I… I have to.”


	4. "Haha Terra's cool but also he's my ex boss so that's awkward"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of Dem bonding and hanging more with the Wayfinder Trio !!!!! I love all these characters!!! Dem and Terra vibe in this one it's dope. Terra is just a dad and we truly love to see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //default dance// I dont know how to write TERRA but BOY am I TRYING !!!  
> @ Terra  
> You are my Daaaaad. You're my dad! Boogie woogie woogie!

The Land of Departure was…  _ weird. _

Not bad! It was truly quite pleasant! But because of that it really was just  _ weird. _ Going from living in the Castle that Never Was for over a decade, then to his similarly decorated apartment, then to  _ this. _ Well, saying the change was jarring wouldn’t do the feeling justice. But he could adjust! It would just… take a good chunk of  _ time. _

Demyx absentmindedly plucks at some of the moss covering the short stone wall he was sitting on. He swings his legs a bit as he sits there, taking in the sights. The actual castle was a spectacle on the horizon. Bright white and golds giving off an almost ethereal glow. He was always one for sitting back and enjoying the sights, but something about this world just hit differently. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have his sitar with him? He wasn’t used to exploring new places without it. He always brought it with him on recon missions as it was, well, his  _ weapon _ of course. He felt awkwardly empty-handed now, and still found himself making a mental list of things he’s noticed. He never gave much care for actually writing his reports, but that’s not to say he wasn’t good at recon. After a while, Saix gave up trying to get serious written ones and opted to just have Demyx orally recall everything as  _ he _ wrote everything down. Dem definitely didn’t mind--made him feel useful for once and he actually got to easily demonstrate his recon skills. Those skills weren’t very useful nowadays though, not like he had to worry about any fights or threats. He purses his lips in mild dissatisfaction but refocuses on the present, once again just admiring the view.

He came a ways down the path to sit, and was still mainly just adjusting and getting a lay of the land. He found a nice little square and it seemed as good a place as any to sit down. It truly  _ was _ beautiful here. Odd to think Castle Oblivion used to sit in its place. He frowns at the thought. Several of his old companions died in ol’ C.O. He wasn’t that bugged by it at the time, and a part of him still doesn’t really mind the thought since they’re still out in the world somewhere, but the idea of someone being struck down nearby is still surreal. This place’s beauty hid some real tragedies.  _ Okay come on. Stick to the present. We’re not in the Organization anymore. _

But ah well, he shouldn’t dwell on the past so much. Though guess that’s a bit hypocritical considering everything that’s led up to him being here. He blows an annoyed sigh out of his mouth, his breath crystallizing then melting upon hitting the warm air. He grimaces but then forces himself to relax. Be pretty pathetic if he turns the wall into ice then slipped off and to his doom. If there’s an afterlife then  _ boy _ would he be the real laughing stock. He glances down at his hands, not really sure what he’s looking  _ for _ but… Man, maybe there’ll be  _ something _ in his palms. 

He’s long since ditched the thick leather gloves the Organization always forced them to wear, opting for short fingerless ones. Still dark colors--Navy blue mesh for the palms, then black on the back, but he couldn’t really see himself gloveless or wearing something super bright yet. He kept the coat and the dark colors he wore really made him stand out here since everything was so bright. Pretty ironic, he’s gotta admit! 

He blinks back to reality, hearing footsteps coming up behind him. Quickly turning back he spots Terra, who awkwardly pauses mid-step. Demyx relaxes and smiles in greeting, though his nervousness was palpable. Terra smiles and walks up beside him.

“Figured I’d run into you somewhere out here.”

“Huh?” His expression quickly drops into one of dumbfoundment, “How so?”

Terra chuckles, “Despite it being  _ extra work _ and  _ effort…” _ He fails to hide his smile, “You still always seemed to enjoy exploring each corner of new worlds if you could.” He takes up a seat on the wall next to him, pulling up a leg. Demyx blinks in surprise, leaning forward.

“ _ You remember things like that?” _ That was the first of  _ many _ questions that came to mind, but it’s not like he could get the proper words out for any others yet. Terra laughs and nods with a shrug. 

“Sure! Xehanort was just as much trapped in there with  _ me _ as I was with him.”

“I’m still surprised though… I mean, I know you were like, technically my  _ boss _ and coworker or whatever but  _ you _ are just--” He awkwardly gestures to Terra, soon breaking out in nervous laughter. “ _ Different! _ I-In a good way though! Uh  _ sir.  _ I--...” He trails off and deflates as he rubs his neck, not really sure how he should be going about this conversation. Terra just gives a sympathetic smile.

“Don’t stress yourself out over just a simple conversation. I promise I’m not nearly as intimidating anymore.” He light heartedly nudges him in the arm. “But to answer your question, yeah, I still remember a fair bit. Plus it’s not like you all were easy characters to just  _ forget.” _ He huffs and rolls his eyes with a smile. “Such a colorful bunch for a group of Nobodies. A lot of ‘em baffled me, including  _ you _ despite you being one of the most normal people there.”

“Uh oh, what’d I do?”

“Nothing bad! Don’t worry! It’s just I remember…” He trails off a bit, holding a hand to his mouth as he tries placing exactly how it felt. “With your personality, it always surprised me you were in the Organization. Or, well, surprised  _ Xemnas _ I guess. I don’t know how much of ‘ _ me’ _ that was but, anyways.” He smiles rather unsurely then continues, “Gotta have a tough will to become a Nobody that resembled a  _ person _ , yknow. And given your whole personality, no offense, but it was just surprising to see you come around! Not once but  _ twice _ even!” 

“Should I take that as a compliment…?”

Terra shrugs, “I think so. It means that you’re strong deep down. Got a fighting spirit even if you don’t express it. I’d say that’s something to be pretty proud of!” He smiles and Demyx returns it, feeling his chest swell a little bit. He never even considered it that way. He rubs his neck then nods.

“Well, I still think you take the cake when it comes to the whole ‘fighting spirit’ schtick. But, thanks man. Boss. Dude?” He awkwardly stumbles over his words again and Terra chuckles. Demyx leans his head on his hand, propped up by a knee. “So… Who all was  _ your _ Nobody? Cause I know the old man split and turned you into a whole lotta different people so that’s gotta be a headache…” He suddenly gets a bout of nervousness and goes slightly red, “I-If that’s way too personal a question that’s fine! Sorry, I just like, still don’t really think before I say. My bad.” He grimaces and Terra shakes his head, waving him off.

“Like I mentioned before, no need to stress. I’ve got a weird mix of memories, all rather split. Though I remember things from Xemnas the most clearly…  _ Ansem’s _ memories I have a good amount of but Xemnas is most prominent…” He mumbles, squinting a bit in thought. Demyx blows out a breath.

“ _ Man… _ That must’ve been weird when the old man brought all those guys back for the “New” Organization.”

“ _ Yeah.  _ That’s the point where things got really jumbled. Too much input from too many places. It’s more hazy than other times.” He shrugs, “But yeah, I remember a fair amount about all the Organization’s members, odd as it is.” He clasps his hands around his knee, “But enough about me. How are  _ you _ holding up? I know the transition is probably…  _ difficult.” _

Demyx laughs a bit, “What, you really all that concerned?”

“Hey, working through amnesia is no joke. I mean just ask Ven! That’s already enough on its own, but struggling with powers on top of it? Boy I know how difficult that can be…” He smiles sympathetically and Demyx can’t help the nervous laugh as he picks at his nails. He nods however and Terra continues, “Think you’ll get used to this place?”

“Yeah… All the bright color is what’s throwing me off the most to be honest.” He chuckles and Terra nods, following suit.

“I can only imagine.” He lets one hand go and reaches over to pat him on the shoulder. “Just remember that you’re  _ welcome _ here, okay? We’re here to help and aren’t going to get annoyed by you  _ asking _ for it.” He gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and the younger man looks up to him from the corner of his eye. He takes a moment to look rather dumbfounded and actually process his words. He shifts into a sly smile after.

“Is that a  _ challenge?” _ He grins with a chuckle and Terra rolls his eyes before laughing along.

“ _ No. Don’t.” _ He jabs a finger at him and Demyx just grins in response with his hands held high. Terra shakes his head with a smile and the two settle back into silence. Demyx picks at his gloves a bit and goes back to looking around the area. After a minute Terra sighs and speaks again. “Yknow, this is the place where I first fought the young version of Master Xehanort.”

“ _ Woah, really?” _ Demyx turns back to him in disbelief. Terra nods and flicks up Demyx’s hood to his surprise.

“Yep. Didn’t know who he was at the time though. Had the darn hood up the whole time. I couldn’t exactly get the chance to stop and study him between all the lasers and stuff.” He lets out an awkward chuckle and Demyx nods in understanding before flipping the heavy hood back down. He lets out a slight whine at his now messed up hair, his shoulders drooping in sheer disappointment. Terra chuckles at the sight and Demyx awkwardly tries to shove his hair back and out of his face at least. He’s been so caught up in everything that he didn’t notice he ran out of hair products until it was too late. The shaved portions of his head have long since grown out to be an even length with the rest of his hair, but it was all starting to get slightly too long for his tastes, making it even harder to just shove back and out of the way without his products. He grumbles.

“ _ Man… _ Still like the jacket but that hood can be a real pain at times.”

“Why not get a new jacket? Can’t imagine that thing has the best memories associated with it… No offense!”

“Nah you’re good, don’t worry.” He rubs his neck and shrugs, “And I guess you’re right, but I dunno… I just feel safer with it. Plus hey, if I keep it on all the bad memories’ll be replaced with good ones eventually! Just gotta keep on keeping on.” He smiles a bit and starts rolling up the sleeves to his elbows. “Sides, I can style it into something new! More cool and less cultish.  _ No offense, boss.” _ He grins at Terra, who just snorts and lightly smacks him in the arm. 

“We can  _ drop _ the weird ‘boss’ schtick.” He eyes him lightheartedly. “It’s just  _ Terra. _ No need to stress about it.”

“Y’sure you don’t want a whole title? I mean you’re a keyblade wielder! Keyblade Master Terra!” He swoops a hand across the air in a grand gesture with a stupid grin. Terra just rolls his eyes and chuckles.

“As admittedly  _ cool _ as that sounds. It’s a  _ mouthful.” _

“Eh, fair enough.” Demyx chuckles. He pulls his feet up and sits criss-cross on the wall, resting his hands on his ankles. “But in all seriousness I don’t wanna end up disrespecting you. I mean, you’ve been through a  _ lot _ for that title if the things I’ve heard are right.”

“Maybe so, but enforcing that kind of thing isn’t my style. Feels too…” He smirks a bit and nudges Demyx in the arm, “ _ Cultish.” _ Demyx snorts and the two laugh for a moment. Demyx nods, hands up.  _ Alright. Fair enough! _ Demyx plucks at his gloves again as he thinks.

“Did you need anything else out here? Or…?” He trails off, not really sure what to say but not wanting to sound rude. He didn’t  _ mind _ the company, but he didn’t exactly know Terra well enough for conversation to flow without some kind of tension. Terra just shrugs and shakes his head.

“Not really. Like I said, I just wanted to see how you were adjusting.” He looks out over the horizon, gaze eventually dragging back to the castle. “You finish exploring the inside?” He points to it.

“Huh?” He glances that way then laughs awkwardly, “ _Oh!_ _No_. Honestly I just barely managed to find my way outside! Big place… Really nice! But _big…”_

“Well you’ll get it in time, I’m sure.” He looks at the little plaza they’re on the edge of, “You’ve found a good spot for the meantime. If you’ve ever got a bad head at night,  _ this _ is the place to go.” Terra shakes his head as he stares up at the sky, “The stars are  _ amazing _ … Really good for just clearing your head. Ven, Aqua and I have always loved coming out here in the evenings. Before that Master Eraqus had been bringing Aqua and I out here for years.” He sighs softly, “Some of my best memories are right out here.” He smiles. “You’ll like the view. No place better.” He states matter-of-factly, making Demyx smile a bit.

“I’m sure. Not to diss on the old place, but no stars and one giant, fake, kingdom hearts that reflected  _ way _ too much light got  _ old.” _

“Heh! I can see that. I still like it--”

“That isn’t surprising in the _ slightest, _ man.”

“ _ But--” _ He eyes him and Demyx bites back a snicker, kicking his legs back out over the wall. “I’ve spent most of my life around other stars, so I’m partial to something that changes it up. This sky is still the best though.” 

“I wonder what types of places I’ve seen but just… Can’t  _ remember.” _ Demyx says with an air of wonder in his voice. “I think that’s one of the things I’m most excited about knowing!” He smiles and Terra nods.

“You have to promise to share some stories as they come back to you.” Terra nudges and Demyx nods with a grin and thumbs up.

“A’ight! But if they’re boring, don’t blame anyone but  _ yourself _ for wanting to hear ‘em!”

“Ha! Fair enough.” Terra laughs. He settles after a moment then pauses, thinking over his next words carefully. Coming to a decision he hops off the wall, stretches slightly, then taps on Demyx’s shoulder to catch his attention again. Teal eyes glance back and Terra smiles and gestures further down the path. “Want a proper tour? I know we already showed you the  _ basics _ but I figure it’d be nice to actually take it all in. If you have any questions about anything too you can ask me.” He rests his hands on his hips and shrugs. “There’s no pressure of course. But I don’t mind a walk if you’d like to.”

“Oh!” Demyx blinks, pleasantly surprised. He sits there a moment to think it over. On one hand an actual in depth look through the place might be nice, and it could be a chance to get to know Terra more. On the  _ other _ hand getting to know Terra meant getting past this initial social awkwardness and tension. There was already progress made, but boy was it still intimidating. He bites his lip, drumming his fingers a moment more in thought before coming to a decision. Eh! Might as well. “ _ Yeah! _ That’d be  _ cool! _ Gimme a sec!” He smiles and grips the wall, swinging his legs back over. He felt rather lanky at times, but no heels or ankles caught on anything for once! He stands with a smile and, unsure of where to put his hands, he just clasps them behind his back. Terra smiles then nods.

“Alright! Off we go then! Not to brag but I know some of the coolest spots here from when I was young. I used to explore all the nooks and crannies Aqua wouldn’t. Got in trouble here and there but it was worth it." He says with a grin and Demyx laughs.

“I can see that. I can imagine you gave ‘em all heart attacks with these cliffs though!”

“Oh trust me, you have  _ no _ idea.” Terra smiles with a light laugh as the two start further down the grassy path. There was plenty to explore, and plenty of sunshine left to do it! 


	5. Something's better than nothing!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting off questionable with magic work, there's at least something! Dem struggles a bit and Aqua kinda gets a better idea of what she's dealing with here. They vibe! Demyx is doing his best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im rlly tired when uploading these so like my summaries, titles, and notes are going to be super mediocre or bad so LKSDJFSLKD MY B  
> There isn't like a clear/definitive timeline I've made with this vague plot since all these are just separate drabbles I've vaguely connected and strewn together, so I apologize again for any inconsistencies or unclear timeframe stuff. I am just vibing. This I'd say takes place within the first week or so of his time in the Land of Departure tho!

_ “I can’t--!” _

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Aqua chides, “Now breathe,  _ focus, _ and try again.” She pats him on the arm then takes a step back as he lets out a frustrated sigh. He turns back and glares down at the frozen over water before him. This shouldn’t be hard--it really shouldn’t! And yet here he was, standing on the shore looking like an idiot. He glances back, unsure and Aqua can’t help but chuckle a bit and nod. “The ice won’t melt itself! You’ve got this, just  _ focus… _ Even if this was an accident, these are still  _ your _ powers.  _ You _ are in control. They are an extension of  _ you.” _

“An extension of  _ me _ , huh…” Demyx huffs a bit with a smile. He takes time to mull over her words then nods and sucks in a breath. Alright, now or never. He narrows his eyes at the ice sheet before him, trying to narrow down the feelings that were causing it. Narrow it down and control it. It’s exhausting trying to dive so deep into himself, but he had to get used to it or nothing would improve. Curiously, he takes a step forward onto the ice. The chilled surface against his skin sends a shiver up his spine, and the ice reacts with that same mystifying glow that he’s grown used to seeing. 

He hesitates, his cheeks flaring up a bit from embarrassment. He feels foolish.  _ Really _ foolish. But, knowing it’s just Aqua there, he tries to brush off his nerves and focus on himself and the ice. He pulls his other foot onto the ice, arms held out momentarily to keep his balance. Alright, so far so good. He stares down at the glow below him. He lightly glides one foot back and forth, watching the glow follow right below it. He can sense…  _ something. _ He tilts his head in curiosity. There’s a tension building up in his chest, he can feel it now, just enough. Moving his gaze away from his feet, he looks to his hands and stares at them. He squints and watches the ice as he waves one back and forth--no reaction. Perhaps he needs to crouch down?

Without thinking, he does so and takes his gloves off as he does. Stuffing the gloves hastily into his coat pocket he sucks in a breath when loud cracking resounds in his ears. Glowing cracks and chips shooting out through the ice from beneath him, why did it take so long for him to notice? Panic wells up in his chest and in a flash he sees himself dropping into the water. He grimaces and slams his hands over his ears to stop the loud ringing, but the flashing image replays over and over in the short second he takes to process. With a gasp he bursts back into reality and slams his palms down onto the freezing ice beneath him, eyes wide. With a small shockwave, the cracks flash with light and disappear and the ice shoots further out across the water, building like it were a web. The ice beneath him has a new sense of solidity to it. He must’ve made the ice sheet thicker. He grimaces and quickly recoils, falling backwards and clutching his chest with freezing hands. He looks out over the water and watches the ice sheet stretch all the way to the opposite side and send up a slew of pretty crystalline particles in the sunlight. He sucks in a breath and lets out the loudest, most annoyed groan physically possible and just drops onto his back on the ice. He presses his hands against his eyes as he regroups.

_ Okay _ . Instead of  _ melting _ the ice, he has managed to not only stop it from breaking, but probably add a foot to the sheet, and accidentally covered the small river from one end to the other. Fantastic job Demyx,  _ really _ nailing it. He sighs, then grimaces a bit upon realizing his eyes are beginning to hurt. Frowning he takes his hands off and sits up, trying to blink them back to normal. In the meantime he hears the sounds of Aqua’s shoes clicking on the ice behind him. She taps crouches down and taps on his shoulder.

“Are you  _ alright?” _

“Y-Yeah I  _ think _ so. Sorry I couldn’t melt it… I-It was starting to crack and I just  _ knew _ I was gonna fall in if I didn’t--!” He bites his tongue mid sentence and sighs in frustration, dropping his hands. “ _ Sorry.” _

“It’s okay, you tried and that’s what matters.” She smiles reassuringly. “Besides, I think we can still say you improved.” Demyx, still blinking hard, now pauses and looks towards her, dumbfounded. 

“ _ Huh? _ How’d’you figure?”

Aqua stands and offers a hand out to him. He doesn’t notice so she just continues speaking, “ _ Well... _ You said you  _ knew _ you were going to drop through the ice right?” 

“ _ Yeah _ …” He mumbles, unsure of where this is going. 

“And so you had to  _ do _ something, right?”

“Uh huh…”

“That _ something _ was creating more ice beneath you, so you’d be supported.” She tries to hide her slight laugh, “Granted, you may have overcompensated a bit, but that’s to be expected.” She now smiles and leans down slightly to emphasize her words, “ _ Demyx.  _ You did that  _ voluntarily _ .  _ You _ controlled your powers.  _ You _ thought of what needed to be done, and you  _ did _ it.”

Demyx sits there, shock washing over him as he just stares blankly at her. She laughs a little as he finally glances down at his hands, at himself. He starts chuckling a bit, a smile breaking out as he holds his hands over his heart.

“ _ I--...  _ **_Holy shit!_ ** _ ” _ He laughs, hitting a hand against his forehead. Aqua laughs with him, nodding. He smiles from ear to ear and just sits there on the ice-- _ his _ ice--in bewilderment. He managed to make  _ some _ kind of progress! Holy shit! It’s more than he could ask for. He looks up to Aqua again, stupid grin still wide, and nods. “ _ Thank you! _ I-I know we haven’t done a whole lot but just…  _ Thank you.” _

She smiles and rests her hands on her hips, “Someone’s got to help you lost fairytale kids. Here, let’s move off the ice so I can disperse it.” She offers her hand out once again and she pulls him to his feet.

“Fairytale kid…?” He raises a brow. She nods and waves for him to start walking off the ice as she talks.

“Mhm. Axel mentioned that you may be from the same time period as Elrena and Lauriam, I believe…? Pardon me if I didn’t get the names right.” 

“No no, that’s them.” He reassures as he hops back onto the small rock covered shore. He rubs his neck, “I guess I just never really  _ thought _ about it seriously. I mean,  _ me? _ From the same age as  _ those _ guys? When there were so many masters and keyblade wielders?? I dunno, it just sounds kinda  _ crazy. _ ” He shrugs then quickly tenses and catches himself, “Er! No offense! I didn’t mean--”

Aqua smiles and holds up a hand, quieting him. “It’s okay.” Now on the shore as well she summons her keyblade with her other hand. “But like I said before, you shouldn’t sell yourself short.” 

“Right… My bad.”

“No need to apologize. You’re still adjusting.” She chuckles a bit. “You remind me of Ven in some ways.”

“Wh--  _ Really? _ How?” He pauses and rubs his neck with a grin, “I hope he’s not  _ that _ annoying to you.” He half jokes and she chuckles softly, shaking her head.

“ _No no._ Just… Got a lot of potential but a lot of uncertainty holding you back. Ven, when he first came to us, was…” She frowns and shakes her head, remembering what Xehanort had done to him. “He was in rough shape, putting it _kindly…_ _But,_ with a little bit of care and support, he’s really grown into a strong keyblade wielder. I couldn’t be more proud.” She smiles and Demyx nods, half-heartedly returning the gesture. She continues, “Have you talked much with him yet?”

“Uh--  _ Well, I--  _ uhhh… n-no. Not much.” He rubs his neck, giving her an apologetic look. She hums in thought but nods back. He stutters, “I-I honestly am just kinda nervous. I  _ know _ he and Roxas don’t share memories or anything but uh,” He laughs a little, “ _ Roxas _ never really liked me. I don’t blame him, I was kind of a pain for him and tricked him into doing half of my missions…” He awkwardly chuckles. He shrugs, “Guess it’s just intimidating since they look so similar. Sorry…”

“It’s alright. I understand. But truly, I think you two would find you have some things in common. If anything you could share experiences with regaining your memories.”

“Heh, or acting like zombies when we first showed up…”

“ _ What?” _ She laughs and Demyx grins.

“Well whenever someone first becomes a  _ nobody _ you pretty much gotta  _ relearn _ everything! You can walk and talk, sure, but getting back to the point where you’re, like,  _ coherent  _ and can actually  _ think _ can take from days to  _ months!” _ He stretches his arms slightly, “I was pretty lucky! I was one of the few that came around pretty quickly! Heh, Larxene said it was because I had nothin’ going on in my head,  _ buuuut _ I think she’s just  _ mad _ it took  _ her _ a  _ month _ to really get it together.” He grins and Aqua shakes her head with a laugh.

“I imagine she never let you off easy when you brought that up.”

“ _ Never. _ But that’s just how she is in general to be fair.” He states with a shrug. Aqua just smiles and finally refocuses. She raises her keyblade in both hands and hones in on the ice. He scratches the back of his head with a sigh and watches her work her magic. Getting rid of the ice before them seemed like  _ child’s play _ ! Just a wave, twirl, a stab and poof! It was already cracking and sizzling away in the sun. At least he thinks it was, his vision was admittedly a bit hazy again. He frowns, hoping he’d gotten whatever it was in his eyes out earlier--guess not. 

He turns away slightly and tries blinking out any gunk, but no change. He grumbles to himself,  _ ‘oh come on,’ _ and lightly pushes on his eyelids and is met with a resounding stabbing pain.

“ _ OW! OW! Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!” _ He jerks his hands away from his face and just shakes them since he can’t do much else. Aqua quickly looks back to him and drops what she was doing. She hurries over, keyblade still in hand.

“Are you okay? Did something happen that the scientist--umm...-- _ Even! _ should know about?”

“ _Augh!_ _I--_ ** _ow_** _\--I-I just_ got this _pain_ behind my eyes.” He tries blinking them again, but to no avail. He shakes his head, regretting it quickly as his head spins. “Ew! Don’t like this. I-I think I…” He scrambles to think of some kind of explanation, “I might’ve scratched my eye with some ice particles…? Or with that little shockwave the pressure did something to my ears? God my head’s _spinning.”_

“Are you  _ sure?” _ Aqua squeezes his shoulder, stare serious.

“I… I dunno. I can’t  _ think _ clearly. Can we walk back? I-I need to sit down,  _ please.” _

“ _ O-Of course! _ Of course…” She gently starts guiding him with her free arm and glances back to the slowly melting ice behind them. She frowns slightly but decides to just leave it. It’ll melt and be gone on it’s own, hopefully it doesn’t cause much problems for the wildlife. She retreats inwards with her thoughts, noting Demyx has already done the same. This didn’t sit well with her, she would probably try and come into contact with Even. This didn’t seem to be the reaction Demyx had described to her previously, but considering the situation he should probably still know. It had been a rather quiet day. Long before he crouched down, he should have heard her yell warning him that the ice was cracking.   



	6. "Ven's in this one hopefully" <- my google doc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dem has a good old fashioned crisis while staring into the stars then BAM! Ven is there and they're both like "wait why is he up it's like 2 am" and basically are just the spiderman pointing meme. They get over it tho and have a good ol chat and bond a bit because I'm a sap and they'd have a potentially cool friendship !!! I have plans and it's gonna be fun to explore!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Ven and I love Terra but I have to say that writing them is THE most difficult thing like LKJSDKLSJDF IDK BUT,,,, I DID MY BEST,,,, We need to spend more time with them in canon so I can get better grips on their characters and how they'd like. properly respond and react to things cuz rn Im doin my best but feel like Im flying partially blind LKJDSFLK SO I APOLOGIZE BUT VEN IS A SWEETHEART, I LOVE HIM, AND I STILL THINK I DID OKAY SO!

Terra was definitely right. The stars  _ were _ gorgeous out here. The millions of lights pin pricking the night sky shine back down onto the Land of Departure in their mystifying way. Leaning against a column in the small plaza right outside the front of the castle, teal eyes reflect that same sky in sheer wonder. He didn’t have the energy to walk all the way down to the other plaza for the  _ best _ view, but that’s okay. Staring up, he can’t help but lose all track of time until the deep set sense of longing overwhelms him. He has somewhere else to be. Somewhere out  _ there. _ But…  _ where? _ The young man sighs a bit as he shifts to looking at a different part of the sky. It was wondrous, absolutely wondrous no matter what.

He crosses his arms, soon shifting to hugging himself really. Some hair’s fallen into his face, but right now he doesn’t really mind. The ache behind his eyes had dulled, he had some progress with his powers, and he was in a great place! He smiles and momentarily pulls one hand out to look at it before crossing his arms once more. It was good, he just didn’t want to think about the potential double-edged sword. Those weird flashes he got from the keyblade first, and now he has slightly more say over what his powers do? He didn’t remember seeing anything that had to  _ do _ with his magic  _ directly but… _ Maybe those  _ were _ some shreds of his memory, and because he chipped a few out-- _ finally _ \--he was able to naturally regain a little control over his powers. Didn’t Even say something like that?

He tightens his own grip on his arms and swallows at the thought, his throat suddenly dry. He remembers the dread that made his chest hurt the first time he saw those flashes, he  _ really _ doesn’t want those feelings to belong to  _ him. _ Great job Demyx. Didn’t wanna think about it and now here he was  _ stressing _ about it. He forces himself to relax, those ice particles he was used to seeing now fluttering into the cool night air. Man, why’d it have to be ice? Water’s always been his schtick, and he still feels most attached to it. He had asked Aqua if they could work on just water magic, but she unfortunately made a point--water magic’s cool and all, but it’s hard to use if said water is frozen over. Hopefully, she said, he’d be able to use ice and water interchangeably one day! Now  _ that _ would make for a cool sight. He untangles his arms and looks to his hands again, then glances down at the grass beneath him. He moves over and sits on the smooth half-wall surrounding the plaza--the stone cool to the touch. He pulls one leg up and lazily hangs onto his ankle with one hand, holding the other out as he squints and focuses on the grass. 

Eyes narrowed, he lightly tenses the muscles in his hand-- _ got it! _ With a smirk he flicks his wrist up and with it a small amount of water is ripped out of the green grass and now floats a few inches below his palm. He smiles and lets out a sigh, now zoning out as he wisps his hand in random motions, bending the small bit of water however which way. But quickly the water starts stiffening. Demyx frowns, mumbling to himself.  _ Come on, already? _ He tenses his hand more, trying to fight the ice that was making its way over the small bit of water. It was a losing battle, but maybe if he just  _ pushed _ himself! His hand beginning to shake from the strain of fighting it, he shifts it into a tight, claw-like position out of desperation. He feels each of his fingers begin to ache and the strain starts to move downward to his wrist.  _ Dammit! _ He digs into his ankle with his other hand absentmindedly.  _ Come on! This is hardly  _ **_anything_ ** _! _ He grits his teeth, but that was it. The small amount of water flashes a cool blue and drops to the ground, a spikey ball of dense ice. Demyx slams his fist into the wall he’s on out of frustration, making a small patch of ice on its side. Responding in an emotion more akin to disgust than anything, he rips his hand back to his chest.

He finally lets go of his poor ankle with his other hand--he might limp on that one for a bit--and uses it to hold onto his other hand. After a moment of staring intensely at his own skin as if it’d help anything, he sighs and just starts aimlessly massaging his palm. He leans down and grabs the spiky ice ball and looks it over. Looks like some kind of magic sea urchin. He huffs as he blandly looks it over. Pretty, but kinda useless unless you want a baseball as a weapon--one time use only. He gives it a light toss then yelps as he gets pricked.  _ Man _ , that woulda looked way cooler if he had just caught it right. He sticks his tongue out at it then stands back up. He sizes up the drop down from the wall and purses his lips in thought. He almost brings his hand to his face in thought until he remembers he’s holding the damn thing in his hand.  _ Very smooth tonight, Dem. Very smooth. _ Nodding in satisfaction with himself he readjusts his grip on the tiny death trap, rolls his shoulders a bit, then winds up and  _ chucks _ it. And  _ shit _ does the thing fly  _ FAST! _ He grins slightly and leans slightly over the wall to get a better view as the thing rockets outwards and eventually downwards. With a lopsided grin and laugh, he lazily salutes as the small thing drops beneath the fog. Au revoir!

Stepping back and feeling more satisfied than he honestly should he looks back up to the stars, pointedly ignoring the ice patch on the wall. Ignorance is bliss and it’ll ( _ hopefully) _ melt eventually! Maybe he’ll try going back inside to rest again--he might actually get to sleep this time! Earlier it was just endless tossing and turning because of the pain behind his eyes, even when it dulled down it wasn’t dull  _ enough. _ Like having a growing pain as a kid. He wasn’t sure if that analogy was  _ extremely _ accurate but it felt right enough. In the middle of his casual bullshit line of thought, he perks up upon hearing the heavy castle door shut. Immediately his brain  _ zooms _ into Excuse Mode, ready to turn around and face Master Aqua or Terra and…!

… Awkwardly making eye contact with Ven. The two stare at each other from across the plaza, both frozen and not really sure if the other is gonna bolt or snitch. Wait--  _ why is he worried about snitching??? _ Demyx internally smacks himself.  _ You’re an adult dude! An adult! _ But then again, Aqua and Terra have that energy… And he doesn’t wanna get in trouble… Wait okay stay on track, Ven’s out here,  _ what do.  _ They’re both still frozen and just kinda staring at each other. Eventually, with no other ideas, Demyx just puts his hands up and shrugs. That… Seemingly does  _ something! _ He stuffs his hands back in his coat pockets as Ven bounces down the stairs. He hesitates once in the plaza but quickly makes his decision and hurries over to Demyx in the little run he always does. He slows to a walk a little bit before reaching him and waves with a small smile. Demyx smiles back in greeting.

“Surprised to see you up, kid.”

“Heh! Likewise!” Ven grins and Demyx nervously grins back. Ven nods, “Are you… uh... feeling better? Your head still hurt?”

“Huh? Oh, nah I’m good now. It’s a little achy but nothin’ unbearable. I can sleep it off now.” He shrugs and Ven smiles.

“That’s good!” He pauses, unsure of how to continue the conversation. The two haven’t really talked much. Eventually Ventus just continues to the wall and sits down, feet dangling over the edge. Demyx awkwardly shuffles back to the column, going back to leaning against it. This is awkward. This is  _ so _ awkward. Demyx rolls his neck as he tries to think of something to say. 

“You… Have trouble sleeping or somethin’...?”  _ Ah the king of smalltalk. _ He internally smacks himself, outwardly grimacing once the words come out. Ven hesitates a moment as he glances back at him, then shrugs.

“Kinda?” He pauses then sighs and nods, “ _ Yeah… _ ” He scoots around slightly so he can face Demyx easier. “I know Vanitas is gone but… Still get bad dreams about it all. Xehanort, Vanitas, when Terra was possessed, the keyblade graveyard in general.” He shakes his head with a frown, “I don’t have dreams about it as much as I used to, but every once in a while one catches me off-guard. So I just come out here to get some fresh air…!”

“That’s fair. You coulda done the same by opening a window though.”

“Yeah well, you’re out here too aren’t you? Why didn’t  _ you _ do that?” He smiles a bit and Demyx opens his mouth to defend himself then falters and ends up just humming in slight dismay. Kid’s got a point. Ven laughs a bit and he smiles.

“Yeah, yeah.  _ Okay _ touche! Ya got me there.”

Ven opens his mouth to say something then hesitates. After a moment though he spits it out, “Were… Were you having nightmares too?” He looks up to Demyx with blue eyes big, and shit, for a moment Demyx forgets this kid is a real keyblade master. Still so young. Demyx hesitates then sighs and shakes his head.

“No… I just couldn’t fall asleep.”

“ _ Oh!” _ Ven says, glancing down and failing to hide his disappointment. Demyx pushes off the column a bit and sucks in a breath.

“W-Well don’t get me  _ wrong…! _ Doesn’t mean I  _ don’t _ wake up from ‘em often. Just wasn’t the case tonight.” He squints, playing up his expressions to try and lift Ven’s spirits, “Honestly if I didn’t have the headache then we’d be in the same boat right now. Bet!” He grins a bit and it works--Ven smiles and lets out a small ‘ _ heh!’ _ After a moment’s hesitation Demyx walks over to the wall. He points down at it in questioning. Ven smiles and nods and Demyx returns the gesture before settling down again. 

“What does an ex-organization member have nightmares about? You all seemed like pretty tough people for the most part!”

“ _ Ha! _ Well we’ve all got our quirks, trust me. Yeah, okay, technically we “didn’t have emotions”, but lemme tell you  _ everyone _ had baggage or somethin' similar. I took pride in knowing how to get under everyone’s skin as if it were an art!” He holds a hand over his heart with a wink and Ven smiles. “But uhh… Yeah. I just got memory stuff for the  _ intense _ nightmares. The few casual ones I got were like the typical things.” He starts counting off on his fingers, “Boss getting angry out ya, getting humiliated, creepy animals or creatures, you know the classics.” He shrugs. “I dunno if I can compare to the stuff  _ you _ gotta deal with though. I’m sorry ya still gotta deal with Vanitas and the old man even after they’re gone…” He rubs his neck and frowns, “Van always struck me the wrong way honestly…”

That catches Ven’s interest. He cocks his head in curiosity, “You knew him…?”

“Yeah! In the whole Remixed Org, we were technically coworkers. I was still a part of the ranks up until I grabbed that first vessel for Roxas. Still talked and interacted with the whole crew!” He shakes his head and squints, “I’unno what it was! I’ve never reacted to someone like that but just  _ seeing _ him  _ irked _ me! It wasn’t that bad in some ways though, cause the brat didn’t like me either! Heh! It’s pretty funny looking back cause we knew NOTHING about each other, but for some reason the moment we saw each other we both just thought,” He points at Ven, failing to hide his lopsided grin, “ _ That guy? Gross vibes. Hate him.” _

“Did you  _ seriously _ not get along?”

Demyx laughs, “Hell  _ no!” _ He gets a bit red and covers his mouth. He clears his throat and glances around for anyone else--coast’s clear. “My bad _. Heck _ no.” He grins and Ven grins back. He continues. “Like I said, we just hated each other! No reason! Just a gut instinct to be honest…” He shrugs, “He always gave me bad vibes anyways.”

“Did you ever fight…?” Ven asks in mild disbelief.

“Admittedly? Yeah, once every now and then…! Which people don’t wanna believe if they didn’t see it for themselves! I guess I don’t  _ blame _ ‘em, my lazy and chill reputation throws ‘em off, but yeah! He was a little brat! Got on my nerves and he  _ knew _ it! So we tousled a few times.” He rubs his ribs at the thought, grimacing, “That keyblade of his  _ hurt, _ man. Talk about an unfair advantage!”

“ _ Yeah. _ The whole gear design didn’t help. Sorry you had to deal with him, he shouldn’t have been able to come back like that in the  _ first _ place.” Ventus frowns, “Or be on  _ their _ side in the first place! His home is  _ here _ , whether he thinks it or not.”

“Oh yeah… What happened to the kid? I figured you all confronted him in the graveyard but I never got the story for that one.”

Ventus sighs, “We defeated him and asked him to come home. Everyone else was coming around in some way or another, but he just… just  _ wouldn’t! _ It was frustrating. After  _ everything _ he chose darkness.” He shakes his head, “And then he said some really  _ confusing _ stuff about... ‘ _ being darkness’? _ And some…  _ other _ things I don’t quite get yet.”

“Sounds edgy.” Demyx huffs, pulling a knee up to rest his chin on. Ventus laughs a little.

“He’d get mad if he heard you say that.”

“Oh don’t worry I’ve told him plenty of times!” Demyx grins and Ventus’ eyes widen before he shakes his head with a smile.

“You’re lucky you missed that fight. He would’ve gone after you without a second thought.”

“Heh! There’s a good reason I missed it!” He winks then pauses. “Ah, and I  _ guess _ getting Roxas back was  _ also _ pretty important.” He jokes and Ventus chuckles with a nod.

“ _ Yeah,  _ I’d say so.” Ventus grins. He pulls his feet up and sits criss-crossed. “This is probably a weird question, but what  _ do  _ you use in a fight if not a keyblade? I know all of the organization members had their own unique things but I don’t know what I’d picture you with. Er--Sorry, I don’t mean for that to be mean.”

“Nah you’re good, kid!” He points back to the castle, “Yknow the big blue sitar I have? The stringed instrument I like playing?”

“Yeah? Does it transform into something?”

“Heh! It’d be cool if it did! But nope! That thing got me through  _ many _ a fight!” He grins and Ventus blinks, suddenly dumbfounded.

“How does  _ that _ work? It’s an instrument…” He trails off and Demyx grins.

“An instrument that helps me control my water magic  _ way _ easier! Just pluck a few strings and I got water clones up and doing whatever I want! Just gotta keep to the beat!” He smirks and shrugs, “Also it’s not exactly  _ light _ either--hits hard when you swing it!”

“Wow! I never really thought of an instrument being able to help magic in a fight.” He nods, “It suits you.”

“Heh! Thanks!” Demyx sheepishly rubs his neck then points to Ven. “I’m sure you’re not too shabby with that keyblade either. You’re a lil Master, right? If Sora could tear right through me then man I’m sure you could knock me down in  _ seconds!” _

“You say that like I’d ever want to!” Ventus chuckles and Demyx laughs with him and shrugs.

“Hey you never know! Maybe one day I’m just,  _ slightly _ too annoying and you decide ‘okay. That’s it. This dude’s just gotta go.’ I won’t blame ya!” He shrugs matter-of-factly and Ventus shakes his head, lightly shoving him.

“Don’t be so negative. I’m sure we’ll all get along just fine.” He smiles and Demyx smiles back, admittedly feeling a bit better. The kid had charm! He heard Ven was a real optimistic ray of sunshine, but it’s different seeing it. _ Certainly _ different from Roxas. Not that he’d be complaining. Ventus pauses in thought then glances up to Demyx out of sheer curiosity.

“What’s up?”

“Well, I’m just curious, but have you ever fought with a keyblade?”

Demyx, nearly chokes on his own spit at the question. He starts coughing mid laugh and bats at his chest. Ventus blinks, having asked a legitimate question. Demyx shakes his head, still cough-chuckling a bit. He clears his throat and waves no.

“ _ Me??? _ Nah, not that I ever remember. And I frankly doubt  _ ever _ being a keyblade master.”

“Are you sure you just don’t remember it?” Ventus shrugs. Demyx pauses, finally settling down more. He shakes his head.

“Nah. I don’t see me doing that. I-I mean… I could be wrong I  _ guess _ but truly?  _ Me _ with a keyblade? Doesn’t seem my style. What made you think I did, if anything…?”

Ventus shrugs, “I dunno. Just a feeling and wanted to see if it were true or not. I’m fine being wrong, but it’s kind of a shame don’t you think?”

“A shame?”

“Yeah! You seem pretty decent from what I’ve seen or heard, and you’re used to lugging around that giant instrument around as a weapon and actually fighting with it, so I just thought that it might be cool to see how you’d use that experience with a keyblade.” He shrugs, “It’s lighter, and I mean, you definitely got a lot of magic to spare if what Aqua says is true.” Ventus grins and Demyx reddens, rubbing his face.

“ _ Aw man, she’s been telling you guys?” _

“Of course! We’re family, and we’ve kinda figured that communicating stuff is pretty important. One downfall to sticking around here is that you’re probably gonna be an open book whether you wanted to be or not.” Ven smiles apologetically and Demyx dramatically blows out a sigh.

“ _ Oy vey. _ Talk about a serious change of pace! Guess it’ll just be somethin’ else to adjust to outside of the organization.”

“ _ Well, _ keyblade wielder or not, you should try one out for fun sometime! Terra carved a few wooden ones out when he was a kid.  _ I _ got the  _ best _ one--not to brag--” He jokes and Demyx chuckles. “--but I’m sure he has a few  _ decent _ ones buried in a back closet or something you could borrow. It could be fun! Terra and I could teach you some neat keyblade techniques in between your magic practice with Aqua!”

“You’re really serious about this, huh?” Demyx smiles and Ventus suddenly realizes he’s been leading the conversation. He hesitates but then regains his confidence with a smile and nod.

“Yes! It could be fun! It’d give Terra and I something to do and maybe it could help in some way too. It’d better than sitting around and doing the same old practice and sparring routines over and over again.”

“Ah so I’m you’re free amusement, eh?  _ This _ the ulterior motive here?” He grins and Ventus laughsa bit, shaking his head. He pauses a second then shrugs.

“Okay maybe just a  _ little. _ But I want to try and help  _ somehow _ anyways!”

“Hey well any amnesia advice you’ve got is already great, you don’t gotta--”

“We can do it anyways. Come on, it’ll be fun!” He holds out a hand for a handshake, “At least try it once or twice for the heck of it. Deal?”

Demyx thinks it over, eyeing the bright eyed teen before him and then his outstretched hand. He had no knowledge of keyblades outside of what little Xemnas and Saix used to ramble on about, Roxas complained about, or what Xigbar attempted to tell him about. So basically nothing since he didn’t care enough to pay attention to anyone but Xigbar (they were friends, you don’t just ignore a bro). He considers it, then thinks about his current power troubles. Would that be dangerous for them? Then again he wasn’t gonna be handling a  _ real _ keyblade, just a glorified stick. Still, it’s something to keep in mind…

Ah, what the hell.

Demyx smiles and slaps his hand into the handshake, giving Ven a firm confirmation.

“I will  _ try _ it. But if anything weird even  _ might _ happen with my weird water ice crap then we gotta stop. Sound good?”

“Deal!” Ventus grins and gives his hand a second good shake in confirmation. Demyx grins back, glad to have made the kid happy and admittedly excited to try out a keyblade fight--even with a fake blade. He always admired how the weapons were used and all the different ways you could use them. It’d be exciting to see how one felt in his hands. One that  _ didn’t _ give him weird flashes of different times and places.  _ Yeah. _ He’d be glad to avoid  _ that _ experience again. Something lighthearted to hopefully take his mind off of all the other stress. 

The two fall back into a pretty decent silence after that, and Demyx turns his attention back to the stars. He was admittedly more tired than he was when he first came out. Having a little chat was nice, probably helped soothe his frayed nerves without even realizing it. He expected his first  _ real _ conversation with Ventus to go a lot more choppily, but it was pretty decent. Speaking of Ventus, the kid lets out a loud yawn to his left and Demyx raises a brow. Ventus glances over and just grins before that grins accidentally turns into another yawn. Ventus frowns, lightheartedly smacking himself in the cheek as it passes--didn’t want to yawn again just yet, gotta stay up just a  _ bit  _ more. But, contagious as they are, Demyx holds a fist to his mouth as he tries hiding his own yawn, clearing his throat and shaking his head as it subsides. Weird how the brain works with those things. He figures he ought to end the night on a good note and gets up, stretching as he does so.

“Well, I’unno about you but I’m beat.” He pauses then smiles, still a bit nervous, “This was… nice! A good chat. Thanks for actually comin’ out here all the way, I know it’s awkward as he--” He catches himself, rolling his eyes a bit with a smile but correcting himself anyways, “ _ heck. _ Awkward as heck having all this happen and having  _ me _ her in general, so I appreciate it. Genuinely.”

Ventus blinks, “It’s no problem, honestly! Everyone needs some friends and comfort, especially in weird times.” He smiles, “Thanks for actually  _ trying _ to talk. And for putting up with my insistence of keyblade stuff.” He gives a lopsided smile and Demyx chuckles.

“Nah don’t worry,  _ I get it. _ You gonna hang out here for a little while more?”

“Um!” Ventus pauses, glancing back up to the stars and the night sky for a long moment before coming to a decision and hopping off the wall and standing. He dusts himself off a bit then smiles up, “I-I’ll actually go back too. Besides, you still get lost in the castle, right?” He smiles, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Demyx sheepishly stuff his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

“ _ Well I’m sure I’d find my way back  _ **_eventually_ ** _.” _

“It’s okay, you can say you’d get lost and be wandering the halls all night. I’ll lead you back!” Ventus smiles, tugging on his coat sleeve. Demyx nods, returning the smile and matching the teen’s pace. This was nice, and he can say he was looking forward to spending more time here now.


	7. Oh Sparring?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demyx gets a wooden keyblade to bop shit with. He's not the best at it but like who'd expect him to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more talking than sparring and Im not the happiest with it but KSKDSKLSDKL w/e we vibing. Did I maybe repeat shit? Probably. Regardless here we are LKDSJFKLSDJFKS More interesting shit coming up because Im uhhh slightly impatient LKDSJFLKSDJFLK

Not how he expected this to go. Not that he ever  _ expected _ himself to have a keyblade, ‘course not! Definitely not. Nope. But regardless, a wooden one wasn’t what he was expecting. He runs his fingers over it. It’s of course not nearly as elegant or nice as the others, but it was something. It was personal too, hand crafted by a kid with big dreams, so it was special. He feels his stomach twist up slightly at the thought, but is quickly comforted by a strong hand on the shoulder. Terra gives him a smile and nods to it.

“Whatcha think? I know it’s not much, but, eh, it’s a start!”

“It’s…” He pauses, looking back to the wooden keyblade in his hands, testing how it feels to hold. “ _ Light.” _ He nods, tossing it between his hands, “ _ Really _ light. I know it’s  _ wood _ but even then, I’m not used to a weapon this uhh…” He searches for the word, nose scrunched up as he thinks, “ _ swift? _ Something like that. I-I’m used to lugging around my sitar!” He laughs a bit, “I might throw out my arm trying to swing this little thing!”

“Heh! Well, we’ll go easy on ya so hopefully that won’t happen. Sides, I’m sure you’ll adjust to it soon enough.” He nods and takes a few steps back, the sounds of his shoes against the tile echoing throughout the huge room. 

It was a  _ gorgeous _ day. Warm rays of sun filter in from all angles, making the castle practically glow. There was something inherent in it that filled the heart with happiness. Demyx smiles, teal eyes shining with excitement. He always thought the type of swordplay involved with keyblades would be fun to learn--even if he didn’t necessarily plan to use it. But the fancy footwork and magic tricks would come much later, first came the basics. The  _ basic _ basics… He’d seen Roxas and Xion in action enough times to have a  _ vague _ idea of how to hold a keyblade, but it was more awkward than it looked. He rather stiffly passes it between his hands, tries holding with both-- _ bad _ , nope--then back to his right hand. With his nerves eventually getting the best of him, he chuckles awkwardly and looks up to Terra with a slight grin and shrug. Any advice? He hears Ventus’ light laugh from off to the side and Terra smiles before stepping forward again.

“It’s all about finding a sweetspot. Don’t worry about doing anything fancy yet. I know Ven holding his backwards is certainly  _ intimidating!” _ Terra jokes.

“ _ Hey! _ It  _ works _ doesn’t it?? Look, there’s no such thing as a wrong way to hold a keyblade!” Ven pauses then shrugs, losing a bit of steam, “Except maybe  _ by _ the blade… I wouldn’t recommend doing that.” He smiles sheepishly and Demyx chuckles with a nod.  _ Duly noted. _

“Regardless, there is, of course, a  _ general _ way to hold any keyblade--like this,” Terra takes his hand and readjusts Demyx’s grip and positioning, then lightly kicks his feet further apart to shoulder width before stepping back again. “It’s awkward and stiff at first, as I’m sure you can obviously feel.” He smiles and Demyx nods as he looks over himself, his whole stance still tense and unsure. Terra nods, “But from there, just try moving about with it. I think you’d be better suited wielding with just one hand, so focus on using your other hand for balance, or to help guide your swings.” He pauses, scratching his head slightly, “That all make sense..?”

“ _ Yeah! _ Don’t worry, I-I get you, I’m just…  _ new _ to this.” He laughs, nodding to him. Terra smiles with a chuckle.

“ _ Good! _ Good. One more thing, real quick. I know you’re not used to the lighter load, but try not to grip it so tightly. You’ll just end up putting more strain on your muscles than necessary, especially right now.  _ Relax. _ You’re gonna do fine.” He smiles and Demyx nods slightly, still focused on his positioning.

“It kinda reminds me of like…” Demyx mumbles, giving the wooden blade a test swing before tossing it between his hands. “Well, a sword. But I guess that’s obvious, heh!”

“You ever hold a sword?”

“A few times here and there! Hardly ever  _ used _ ‘em though--fighting was never my style,  _ especially _ with somethin’ like that. But I’ve tagged along with Luxord to the Caribbean quite a few times! He’s a good time, and the place is gorgeous so I can’t complain!” He rests a hand on his hip and swings around the keyblade with his words.

“That’s the pirate world, right?” Ven asks, now walking over to the others with his keyblade in hand. Terra and Demyx nod.

“Sure was! Luxord already loved the place, but the fact that  _ everyone _ there was shady was an added bonus--no need to slink around unseen like usual!”

“Was that a rule in the Organization?” Ven tilts his head slightly in curiosity.

“Yep! Can’t let the worlds know they’re connected, blah blah blah, so on and so forth.” He nods to Ven, “Similar to your guys’ motto when running around world to world with those keyblades.”

Terra smirks, “That rule didn’t seem to last long though, did it?” 

“Heh, well…” Demyx nervously grins and shrugs, “That was at least the rule for  _ recon, _ I dunno about the other guys. Luxord didn’t care and I mean the worlds seem fine for the most part! So I dunno what the big deal was honestly. I mean they’re all connected right? They’re gonna have to learn about that  _ some _ day.”

“A fair point, but if they’re not ready, and darkness is still at large, then that knowledge could lead to more trouble than it’s worth. Maleficent is a prime example…” Terra mumbles, scowling at the thought of that witch. Ven frowns and Demyx grimaces, getting a chill up his spine.

“ _ Eugh…  _ Never liked her. Never had to deal with her personally-- _ thank God _ \--but I’d see her trailing us on missions sometimes. Creepy stuff.” 

“I’m surprised she’s still causing problems!” Ven adds, “I mean, she was already a pain when you, me and Aqua all went through her world, but to think she’s made her way out and is  _ still _ trying to stir up trouble.” Ven sighs, “I hope she doesn’t get into anything worse. It’s been quiet for a while so hopefully that’s a good sign but… I dunno…”

“Something bothering you in particular, Ven?” Terra looks over, worry clear in his eyes. Demyx pauses his aimless swinging to look to the kid as well.

“Well I just… Isn’t it kinda  _ weird? _ With Master Xehanort’s keyblade, I mean. After the fight in the graveyard, it just disappeared for  _ months!  _ Over a  _ year! _ A-And now it’s back? And we’re just…  _ keeping _ it  _ here? _ Something’s not right. A-And I’m not just saying that because of the creepy eye!”

Terra sighs and reaches over to ruffle Ven’s hair. “I hear you, Ven… Trust me, Aqua and I don’t like it either. But you saw the Realm of Darkness yourself--there was nothing out of the ordinary there _. _ No Vanitas, no Organization stragglers, no over-abundance of heartless.” Terra shakes his head and lets his hand drop down to his side. “It seems all we can do in the meantime is wait and prepare.”

“You guys really think something else is coming?” Demyx butts in, mildly surprised. He pauses, eventually just looking down to the wooden keyblade with a shrug, “I mean. The old man is gone, right? The whole ‘war’ is done.”

Terra sucks in a breath, “Sorry Dem, didn’t mean to start rambling like that. Try not to worry too much.”

“Hey there’s no need to drop it. I mean, it’s a conversation ya gotta have  _ sometime _ right? So what's holdin’ you up? Why don’t you think you’re outta the woods just yet?”

“ _ Well…” _ Terra sighs, crossing his arms. “Along with what Ven mentioned about that old keyblade, there were just a few too many loose ends left after that fight in the Graveyard. Then there was the whole journey to bring  _ Sora _ back, and however Lauriam and Elrena have just… just  _ showed up _ centuries after their time. Vanitas of course is concerning too.”

“Thought the brat died? No offense.” Demyx holds up a hand and Terra smiles slightly. Ven lets his keyblade swing around in his hand and frowns with a shrug.

“Vanitas and I were always connected, since, yknow he was a part of me! And I just…” He glances up to Demyx, covering his heart with his hand and determination in his eyes, “I-I know he’s still  _ out there! _ I can just  _ feel _ it! Sides I… I still have some questions for him. I think he’s confused about who he is. He said he was never a part of me, and that he was just hiding inside me for a long time, b-but that can’t be right! I mean, when Master Xehanort--!” He pauses, getting caught on the words. He steels himself and continues, “When Master Xehanort first ripped him out of me, my heart was still  _ damaged. _ I-I mean, ask Terra and Aqua! They saw how I was! So he  _ has  _ to be a part of me, right?” Ven looks between Terra and Demyx, strained and confused. The two look at each other as well, unsure what to say. Terra reaches over and pulls Ven into a side hug while Demyx rubs his neck. He lightly nudges Ven in the arm.

“Hey kid, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset or stress ya out. I’m sure you’ll get your answers! You’re a tough cookie, you can roll with whatever’s gonna be thrown at you.” He smiles and taps Ven’s chin up and it, admittedly, makes him feel a bit better. He smiles slightly.

“I  _ guess _ I won’t hold it against you…” He pauses then meets him in the eyes. “On one condition.”

“Er--... What’s that...?”

“I get to spar with you  _ first! _ ” Ven grins, lunging forward with his keyblade. Demyx yelps and stumbles back, bringing up the wooden blade in a panic to block. He grimaces, gritting his teeth as he holds the blade at an awkward angle. He brings his other hand up and shoves his keyblade forward to get Ven’s unhooked before stumbling back. Ventus laughs a bit as they space out and start circling each other. 

Demyx grunts and rolls his shoulder then shakes his arm out, but smiles. Okay, not what he was expecting, but the kid had an infectious charm. Ven smiles and readies himself again. Terra backs off and just keeps a close eye on the two, ready to jump in if need be. He opens his mouth to try directing Demyx, only to be beat to the punch as he--albeit  _ awkwardly _ \--shifts into a fighting stance. 

Teal eyes nervously keep shifting between the wooden keyblade in his hand and Ven just a few feet away from him. Demyx considers the rough start. Okay, guess diving straight into a spar is one way to do this. Sink or swim! He sucks in a breath as Ven starts at him once more. With a yell Ven jumps and swings his keyblade down. Demyx whacks to the right, sloppily deflecting it. Ven swings back around, and Demyx hops backwards at the last second, feeling the small gust of wind the keyblade creates as it narrowly misses his chest. This kid was  _ fast _ . Demyx frowns, wishing the keyblade in his hand was bigger or heavier--it’d be more familiar that way. 

He hops back 3 large steps, tossing the wooden blade between each hand as he tries finding that sweetspot for himself. God, how did he get into this again?  _ Right _ , basically being a human popsicle.  _ Great going, Dem! _ Still tossing the keyblade back in forth as he keeps his eyes on Ven, he figures he could honestly hold it either way. Ven was right handed but held his keyblade backwards, essentially giving it a lefty’s swing. He bites his lip, not coming to a solid decision before Ven charges once again. He settles for the middle road--holding it with both hands and using it to solely block attacks. Ven swings left--caught. Ven swings right--caught. Ven swings upwards--caught but at a  _ really _ awkward angle. 

“ _ Owowowowow! Okay, that’s bad, this is bad!” _ He loudly complains, making Ventus laugh a bit. Dem refocuses long enough to notice the mischievous glint in his eyes. Dread washes over him as he squints at him in confusion. Ven quickly twists his keyblade to catch Demyx’s and yanks it to his right, making Demyx stumble forward into an even more precarious position. Realization quickly dawns on the older of the two, but there’s no time to respond before Ven unhooks his keyblade and kicks his knees out from under him in one swift motion.

Demyx grits his teeth as he hits the floor, dropping the wooden blade as he drops. Left his side wide open, damn him. He frowns as he sees movement out of the corner of his eye.  _ Ventus. He was still in the middle of a sparring match. _ Instinctively he snatches the keyblade and kicks himself back onto his feet before bouncing back into a ready position. He eases up after a second though, noting Ven’s somewhat surprised expression. It quickly shifts into a smile though as he holds up a relaxed hand to stop.

“I-It’s all good! We usually stop when someone hits the ground!” He smiles and casts his keyblade off. Demyx blinks and eases up, standing tall again. He rubs his neck.

“O-Oh! Wow... huh, guess I wasn’t expecting it to be short. My bad…!” He laughs a bit and Ventus smiles and jogs over.

“It’s all good. It was your first time anyways. You’ll last longer the more you practice!” He grins and nudges him. Demyx smiles nervously but nods. Ven lights up, “That was a good rebound though! You got good reflexes hopping up like that.”

“Oh uh, thanks! I guess I’m used to Org sparring, heh! Those guys wouldn’t let up so easily unless you were lucky! So ya gotta act fast.”

“You guys did sparring too?”

“Well, yeah. Gotta keep in shape somehow since not all of us had missions that involved fighting. I always hated sparring there but then again I didn’t like doin’ a lotta sh--er,  _ stuff  _ for the Org.” He shrugs. He tosses the keyblade between his hands again, admiring it. He smiles slightly, “I’ll admit, I-I’m not one for fighting but this...” He holds it up in the light with a lopsided smile as he admires at the name etched into the wood’s side. “This was honestly kinda fun...! Yeah my arm hurts a  _ little! _ But I dunno! There was something just naturally  _ fun _ about it. Makes me feel like a real kid again...” He smiles and Ven beams.

“That’s awesome!! Hey, that means you remembered a little bit more, right? I mean, gotta remember being a kid in the first place to feel like one again now!”

“Heh! I guess you’ve got a point.” He slings the keyblade over his shoulders, “My coworkers would argue I never grew up to begin with though so eh, take it with a grain of salt I guess.” He grins and Ventus chuckles. Terra walks over, patting Demyx lightly on the back.

“That was good. You held your ground longer than I expected.”

“Uh thanks? We weren’t fighting for very long though.”

“I said what I said.” Terra shrugs with a smile and Ven snickers. Demyx pouts slightly but drops it. Terra turns somewhat more serious. “How are you feeling magic-wise? No headaches? No uh... Chills?”

Demyx shakes his head, “No sir. Got a little tense with my arm being bent backwards,” He smirks and shoots a look to Ven who innocently glances away. He shakes his head, “But nah, it was like,  _ playful _ tension yknow? I... I feel pretty good honestly!”

Terra smiles and breathes an obvious sigh of relief, “That’s great! I’m truly glad to hear it. I was worried, especially after your struggle down by the riverside with Aqua. But this is good. We’ll still keep an eye out but hopefully as you improve here, you’ll also be gaining more control of your magic so it won’t be a problem.”

“Heh, that’s the goal!” Demyx nods, “Thanks for lookin’ out for me, again. I still don't know how to repay you guys, seriously.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just communicate with us about how you’re doing, mentally and physically.” Terra pauses then crosses his arms, “Hey, I know it’s been a while now but were you ever able to process what you saw? When you held Xehanort’s keyblade I mean. It’s alright if it’s still difficult to understand...”

Demyx tenses, grip tightening slightly on the old wooden blade as he thinks. He frowns and glances away and to the ground. He shakes his head, “I... N-No... I-I haven’t really. I haven’t been able to clearly tell what I saw.”

Terra nods but hums in disappointment. He furrows his brow in hard thought before nodding again and patting him on the arm. “That’s alright, just let us know when you get some clarity. That keyblade--”

Ven interjects, “I thought it was just coincidence?”

Terra pauses to allow him to speak then continues. “I-I  _ know _ ... I just think it’d be good to follow up and be  _ certain _ of that. Like you were saying earlier, that keyblade has some  _ odd _ circumstances surrounding it, and if there’s something going on with it, then checking if Demyx saw anything relating to it would be as good a place to start as any.” He offers Demyx a sympathetic look, “Like I said, there’s no pressure, and if you didn’t see anything related, then that’s okay. Just... Keep us posted, alright?” He reaches out and pats Demyx on the arm reassuringly. Demyx nods, expression serious. Terra smiles warmly and rests his hands on his hips. “Alright! This was good! You can hold on to that keyblade for the meantime, I trust you enough.”

“Aww, are you leaving?” Ven sighs and Terra chuckles with a shrug.

“I mean, if you’d like to do my chores  _ for _ me, I won’t say no!”

“Hmm... I’m okay.”

“Heh! I figured as much.” He nods to the two, “Aqua needs my help with a few things. We should be done by this evening. Don’t get into too much trouble in the meantime.”

“No promises.” Ven smirks and Terra rolls his eyes with a smile. With that he gives each a wave and walks off to a different part of the castle. Demyx lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and Ventus glances up at him.

“Hey, I have another question. Sorry for asking so much, but…” Ventus shrugs. Demyx smiles with a chuckle and shakes his head.

“Nah, it’s okay, kid. Bein’ curious is a good thing! Shoot.”

“Okay umm… I know you don’t really remember a lot from before the Organization, but do you have any idea why you don’t like fighting…? I mean, I get pacifism--having to hurt other people isn’t… isn’t always easy… But you survived the organization for a  _ long _ time, a-and then you went  _ back, knowing _ that you’d have to fight. It’s just… I dunno, interesting?”

Demyx quietly sighs and Ventus offers a nervous smile. He eases up though and shrugs, “I mean… I dunno what exactly to say yet either. It’s  _ weird… _ I don’t remember much of anything but I  _ feel _ like… I feel like before the Organization I was  _ always _ involved in some kind of fight. The adrenaline rush, the thought processes, all the feelings that come with being in a serious fight have never been shocking or  _ new _ to me, despite obviously not remembering anything. I think… I think I was just tired of it.” He holds the wooden keyblade up a bit to admire the grain of the wood. “My time in the Organization felt like a little break of sorts. I mean, obviously not completely, but maybe at least relatively.” He stops himself, suddenly realizing he’s rambling. His cheeks flush and he holds a hand up, “ _ Oh! God, uh!  _ Sorry! I didn’t mean to kinda go on and on about it! Uhhhh simple answer? Just didn’t feel like it.”

“No need to be sorry, I’m glad you feel safe enough to talk about it like that.” Ventus smiles. This kid really was a ray of sunshine. Demyx smiles back rather sheepishly. He always did feel like an open book, but maybe the kid was right. He was really starting to feel safe here. 


	8. We love an Obnoxious but Caring pseudo sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruh Roh! Demyx isn't communicating well but I guess 10-12 years in an Organization where anyone you consider an ally could turn on you at any second will do that to you huh. Elrena isn't about that ESPECIALLY with this type of info.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this like not long after the first chapter but obviously couldn't post it right away because pacing KLDSJLFKSJF but,,,,,,,,,, I do love these two on god,,,,,,,,,,, unexpected friends,,,,,,,,,,

“Wow! Still avoiding a good night’s rest like the plague huh?” The voice of Elrena rings out in the otherwise quiet night. Demyx rolls his eyes and stifles a groan. 

“You remembered something about me! Don’t know if I should be flattered or concerned.” Demyx says dryly as he plucks at the grass where he sits. The woman scoffs and walks over to his side. She waves her hand and he scoots over to make room for her to sit. The night was still warm, and the stars shone bright over the island. He and the others were visiting from the Realm of Departure and it was admittedly a nice change of pace. Something about the island always felt homely! Or maybe he just liked being around the ocean. Probably that. Elrena continues snarkily.

“Couldn’t forget you choking on Luxord’s drink when you first mentioned it, so that’s on you.” She smirks and Demyx rolls his eyes--knew he wouldn’t live that down. “So, heard you had some kind of Freaky Flashback in front of all the keyblade masters!” She mimics creepy claws with her hands then laughs her sweet witch-like laugh. “Talk about _embarrassing!”_

“ _Hahaha. Very funny._ That’s _old news,_ El! Is that all you came to talk about or do you actually got somethin’ you’re too prideful to come out and say?”

Now she crosses her arms and huffs. She flicks her bangs out of her face as she thinks it over. Things were still hit or miss with her, but admittedly they’d gotten better now that they were both out of the organization. More of a sibling you can’t stand than anything at this point. She shrugs.

“I _guess_. Mainly just wanted to hear it from your end. Axel’s account of you going all wide-eyed like a fish wasn’t as satisfying in the long run!” She picks at a nail as she announces such a thing. Demyx shakes his head with a slight smile.

“Nah, I guess it wouldn’t be for you. Gotta have _all_ the knitty gritty details of how I humiliated myself or it’s no good.”

“Whatever. What do you gotta say?”

“Well…” He sighs, clasping his hands together as he looks up at the stars. “I think they were memories of some kind. Mine or the keyblade’s… Or even the keyblade’s old master! I dunno how to describe it really! Weird though, I’ll tell ya that.” He pauses then looks over to her, “Hey! You’re old! Do you know who that keyblade belonged to way back when?”

Elrena glares at him, deadpan. He blinks with an innocent smile and waits for an answer. With no reaction from him, she slowly sucks in a huge sigh and rests her chin on her knees. 

“I was a kid still and I never saw anybody with it on my _own_ . But if what Lauriam told me is right then _apparently_ one of the old Foretellers had it passed down to him from _his_ Master before the war. I dunno if Lauriam knows much about the head honcho from _personal_ experience, but I’ve heard a lot about him. Pretty famous for the time. Kinda weird guy if you ask me.”

“Better than nothing!” He shrugs then turns back to the stars. 

“You have no idea who or what I’m talking about do you.”

“Barely. Bits and pieces. All the stuff I know is basically what I overhear from you or, like, Even during my check-ups.” He waves a hand as he speaks, “Aqua and Terra have mentioned it all a few times, but I can tell they’re still kinda in the dark. Probably won’t be much longer after this visit’s done though.”

“Right…” Elrena shifts then nudges him with her arm. “What makes you think you saw _his_ memories instead of your own? Yknow, the Master’s?”

“Well… For once I’ve been able to actually _hold on_ to the snippets I got. I’ve been thinking about them for a while and they’re all really… _off._ They don’t fit _me_ . Like there was one in the _keyblade graveyard_ in the middle of some bad fight. I…” He holds out his right hand, gripping and unwrapping it as if testing how it felt, “I--or _he--_ had the keyblade in his hand. The one the Old Man had. And I mean, if it used to belong to him that’d make sense, right? But that memory was _before_ memories in this _town!_ It was really gorgeous! It was set in a valley with a river running through it.”

“Was it purple?”

“ _Very.”_

“Sounds like Daybreak alright…” She mumbles and Demyx nods.

“Exactly! But what I saw wasn’t on ground level… It was always high views, like I was looking down from a high-rise or something. Was there any place in Daybreak Town like that?”

Elrena now frowns but nods. “Yeah. There was a giant Clocktower in the middle of town. It was _that_ clock that struck the beginning of the war. The Foretellers used to live there and that’s where they led their general operations from. Their Master loved that place.” She looks to him seriously, “You’re _sure_ you were seeing _him?”_

“I didn’t really see anybody outside of a few flashes. All of the memories were from the first person. I was seeing through… Well _someone’s_ eyes. I don’t know how or why it happened though…” He mumbles and Elrena stares at him intensely, taking everything in. He continues. “Saw some _other_ people, but never what _I_ looked like. Just felt like I had my same coat and outfit on though, at least for the daybreak parts.”

“So you paused mid weird flashback to change outfits? Mildly surprised but not impressed.”

“ _Listen.”_ He pouts and she laughs.

“ _Okay okay, my bad!_ Continue, I am actually listening.”

“ _Yeah._ Anyways I was pretty much in my same coat and outfit, but in the little snippet in the graveyard? I felt, like… _Heavier!_ Yknow the keyblade armor Master Aqua, Master Terra and Ven have? I think I had something similar on, or at least some kinda armor. I didn’t exactly look down to find out, but I had that keyblade in hand! That’s what the clanging sounds were. I--er well, _whoever--_ was in a fight!”

“Weird. Who were the others you saw?” She frowns in thought. Demyx squints a bit as he tries to recall.

“Some other people were dressed in colorful robes with animal masks. Tons of keyblade wielders. People that’d turn into darkness and be whisked away. Honestly half the time I don’t know _what_ I was seeing, but I was _feeling_ things along with it. It was so _strange…”_ He frowns, then scratches his head. Why did he see and experience those things? It just didn’t make sense. “You think their Master did something to his keyblade?”

She pauses to think it over then hums. “ _Maybe_ , but it wouldn’t make sense that _you’d_ trigger it out of anybody else. Pretty random.”

“Yeah… that’s what’s worrying me honestly.”

“Terra and Aqua of any help with this? Or Ienzo and Even?”

“Hm?”

Elrena sighs and turns on the grass to look at him. She flicks his forehead and he recoils. She leans into the words “ _These memories._ Did they have anything to say about them? Whether they’re even _yours_ or not??” She crosses her arms and Demyx grimaces before laughing awkwardly. Her glare narrows. “ _What?”_

“I mean… I’m sure they’d have _something_ to say but… I haven’t really _told_ them.” He mumbles, glancing away, “Or anyone _else_ for that manner…”

“ _Demyx!”_

“What am I supposed to _say!_ ‘Hi, I held that weird old-ass-keyblade and got a glimpse of the old guy who made it and _maybe stole his memories?’_ There’s not really a way to open that conversation up easily. Plus I just…!” He loses momentum, “I _dunno_ … Part of me doesn’t want an explanation.”

“Well that’s pretty _stupid._ Not to mention _selfish!_ Why?” She crosses her arms and Demyx sighs with a half-hearted shrug.

“I dunno…! Something doesn’t feel right about the whole thing! Can’t place my finger on it, but with all of _this_ happening to me lately? I’ve got a bad feeling deep in my heart. I… I _want_ to know about myself. I _want_ to know why I’m seeing and feeling these things! But there’s just this _instinct,_ this _voice_ in the back of my head ringing,” He holds a hand up by his head and makes the motion of ringing a small bell, “ _‘Not yet! This isn’t the right time! Not yet!!!’_ ” 

“Hmm… Yeah. That _is_ pretty weird.”

“Thrilling response. Thank you.” He rolls his eyes, hitting his hands against his legs.

“Yeah well I don’t exactly know what to tell you!” She throws her hands up both fed up and defeated. “Look just… You’re gonna _have_ to figure this stuff out _someday._ And whether you like it or not it seems that day is coming up quicker and quicker. And you’re _especially_ gonna have to tell Master Aqua and Master Terra!”

“I’m _scared_ to, El.” He pulls his legs to his chest, gripping them and shaking his head. “It’s just… It’s just not gonna be _good_ …” He mumbles in a near whisper. Saying it with such _certainty._ The sound of it is haunting, and somehow manages to strike a nerve in Elrena. Demyx may have never been tactful, but his gut instincts were always pretty solid. It even became a joke in the organization. Not knowing what else to do, she simply reaches out an awkward hand and pats him on the back.

“ _Look._ I obviously don’t fully understand what you’re going through. It seems decently shitty, and apparently Even’s never seen anyone ever have this kind of problem so basically you’re completely and utterly alone.”

“Is this the start of a pep talk or a plot to make me so depressed I sink into the darkness never to be seen again?”

“ _But!_ But, you don’t gotta bottle everything up until you explode. Also this information? That sounds _pretty important._ _Any_ information the others can get about that keyblade, that era, and how it might play into the present, is _crucial._ You’re involved in this now whether you wanna admit it to yourself or _not._ So grow a spine and start facing things head on, would you?” She sighs and smacks his shoulder, “Lesson #1 from an Ancient Keyblade Wielder! Don’t give in to fear or else you’ll become just another monster in the dark! And I dunno, stabbing you that way would be more depressing than fun.” She scoffs and it elicits the smallest of smiles from Demyx. He sighs and shakes his head.

“I know…” He mumbles, going quiet. Elrena shifts, unsure of what to say or do next. 

“... I see you’re still wearing the coat. Doesn’t it get hot…?” She tries changing the conversation after the awkward silence. Demyx just shrugs and nods. 

“It’s fine. I’m pretty used to it. Plus with _ice_ powers now I guess, I can figure out ways to cool off if I need it.” He gives a lopsided grin, “The thing’s comfy!”

Elrena scoffs and laughs, “ _Comfy?? That horrible leather thing?”_

“It _is!_ Just wear a T-shirt underneath and the coat is fine! Why fix somethin’ that ain’t broke?” He rubs his arms a bit, “Sides I just… Feel _safer_ with it on.”

“ _Awww… Is that coat your widdle safety blanket?_ ” Elrena playfully jeers and Demyx shoves her in the arm. She laughs and bats him back.

“Oh yeah, _yeah._ Laugh it up, go on!” He waves her off. “Call it whatever you will but it’s like how I feel about my memories to be honest. Something in the back of my mind just keeps sayin’ to keep it on. I don’t know what _for_ exactly, I’m not exactly just chillin’ in the Realm of Spookiness or whatever, so it’s not like I’m in immediate danger.” He sighs and fiddles with the plants woven into the grass in front of him. He plucks up a puffball of a dandelion and continues as he admires it, “But I’unno. Taking it off gives me weird dread… Like I’m being watched or something. Makes my chest tight!”

“Yeah okay. I think at this point,” She begins counting off options on her fingers, “you’re just insane, the stress is making you crack, you’re sleep deprived, or plain _paranoid.”_ She smirks and he despondently blows some stray hairs out of his face.

“I’m _not!”_ He bites back, shaking the dandelion in hand at her as if it were a threat. She laughs in response.

“Sounds like something a paranoid person would say!” She flicks her hand at him, “Not exactly normal to feel like you’re being watched whenever you take a _coat_ off. Maybe you should go sleep for a week or two or check out a therapist.” She hums and Demyx rolls his eyes and shoots her a look. She shrugs. “You talk to me for honesty. I’m _honest._ ”

“ _Right._ ” He says with more of an edge than he intended. Elrena cocks a brow at him and he shoots her a nervous grin. He hurriedly sucks in a large breath and blows out the dandelion, all the seeds going wild in the breeze. He then gets up and stretches his back and arms, his coattails catching in the late night breeze. “I’m headin’ back. If you want to trail me I’m sure you will.” He shrugs with a lightly plastered smile. 

“ _Demyx.”_ She catches his attention and he glances down to her, hands stuffed in his coat-pockets. She nods to him with a serious frown. “ _Take care, seriously.”_

He pauses to take her words in then smiles a cockeyed smile. He nods to her in goodbye then turns and starts walking back. Elrena watches him go for a moment and ponders whether she should follow, eventually deciding against it. She picks up the now bare dandelion stalk, squinting her green eyes at it as she twirls it between her fingers. She’s not one to typically get tangled up in other people’s problems anymore, but this definitely leaves her uneasy.


	9. Bonding Amnesiacs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demyx and Ventus bond over shared experiences and a few little secrets!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UHHH Ive had this sitting for a little bit but have just been tweaking and refining so my bad on the slow update!!! I'm uploading this and the next one together then am gonna let them sit for a little before the next two,,,, my favorite ones so far,,,,, 👀

Walking down the path, the teen comes into view. It was odd seeing him so far out here, but this was where he went to think as Demyx had come to learn. He’d been acting off since they got back from the Destiny Islands. Maybe he was overstepping? But checking on him might be good. He makes his way into the clearing, the castle still as brilliant as ever in the distance. He sucks in a quiet breath, slowing his pace and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he approaches.

“Hey, Ven!” He makes his presence known, “You good? You didn’t show up to spar in the plaza when you seemed pretty excited to, so…” He pauses and Ven perks up, surprise on his face. Seems he was pretty deep in thought--didn’t even hear him approach. Demyx just stands there, a concerned look on his face and Ventus rubs his neck, suddenly nervous.

“R-Right! Sorry! I just… lost track of time, I guess.” He mumbles and looks down to his hands. Hoo boy. Demyx nods and sits down on the short wall with him. Ventus blinks then holds up his hand, “Oh no! It’s okay. We can go, come on!”

“ _ Ventus.” _ Demyx lays the pressure on a bit more than he typically would. Once the kid looks up to him again though, he eases back into his typical laid-back nature with a nervous smile. “Look man, I can tell something is bugging you. Something  _ has _ been bugging you since we got back from the Islands. I dunno if it’s really my place to like,  _ ask _ and whatever, but if you wanna chat, we’ve got time!” He shrugs, “But if going back and sparring’ll also make you feel better, I’m down to go and do that too!” He pulls a leg up and clasps his hands around his knee. “Your call, kid.”

Ventus stops mid turn, ready to have swung his feet back over the wall and began walking back, but he stops. He has a choice here. He frowns a little as he thinks, then slowly moves back into place and pulls his legs up to rest his chin on his knees.

“Okay… I don’t know where I’d start though.”

“Well, that’s okay. I mean, I guess uhh…” Demyx rubs his cheek, “Crap, I’m kinda bad at this…” He laughs a little and it makes Ventus chuckle. He drums his fingers against the wall. “Uhh well I guess start with how you’re feeling? Then maybe you can go from there… Don’t quote me, I’m no therapist. Then again, you don’t gotta tell me all the details if it’s somethin’ personal, I get it.”

“Heh, it’s okay.” Ventus smiles a little then pauses, seemingly falling into his thoughts. Probably hard to place what exactly is eating him up. Demyx sits there relatively patiently if not kinda awkwardly. He can’t really remember the last time he tried comforting someone, or if he ever  _ did _ for that manner. Not that he never cared, but the people in the castle weren’t exactly the type to comfort. Ventus eventually pulls him out of his thoughts as he starts speaking once more, “I guess I’m… confused? A-And a little bit scared? There’s a lot of dread I feel in my chest. In my  _ heart _ …” He frowns, furrowing his brows and admittedly piquing Demyx’s interest. 

“What’s got you so tightly wound?”

“W- _ Well _ …” He takes in a breath and furrows his brows, falling into some kind of internal debate. “I don’t know if I should say. It just has to do with some Daybreak Town stuff Elrena and Lauriam were talking about. That’s all.” He gives a small smile and Demyx just crosses his arms and cocks a brow as he sits back. Ventus can’t help but laugh a bit at the look, holding his hands up, “I swear! That’s all it is!”

“The idea of them being so  _ old _ scare you?” He smirks and Ventus laughs a little, shaking his head.

“Don’t let Elrena hear you talk like that! And  _ no. _ There are plenty of other oldies to  _ actually _ be freaked out by.”

“ _ Ain’t that the truth.” _ Demyx grumbles, blowing some hair out of his face. Ven smiles, kicking his legs over the ledge and clasping his hands in his lap. Demyx sighs and shrugs, “Well, I know I wasn’t there for the full conversation even though I prob’ly shoulda been, but anyways it’s understandable to be freaked out by all this new history stuff. Marly and El being from  _ centuries _ ago? That’s pretty crazy stuff, and makes you wonder why or  _ how _ they even got here. What this means for the future too. So like, I’d say being real nervous about it is natural. You really should say somethin’ to Terra and Aqua though, they’d want you to.”

“I-It’s  _ not- _ -” Ven starts and stops, clenching and unclenching his fists as he thinks. “It’s not that  _ simple. _ There’s  _ other  _ stuff on top of it. Stuff… Stuff Terra and Aqua wouldn’t  _ understand.” _ He mumbles the last bit, tone reflecting his heartbreak at such a thought. Demyx frowns, feeling a pit in his stomach.

“Now easy kid… What’s that supposed to mean, huh? I’m  _ sure _ they would!”

“They could  _ try _ but they wouldn’t  _ truly _ be able to… It’s a lot.”

“Yeah…?” Demyx leans down, trying to catch the teen’s gaze, “You wanna talk about it? I mean, I won’t pressure you but…” He shrugs, “Might help, yknow? Even if you dont wanna talk to  _ me _ about it, talkin’ aloud might help you think it all through.”

“I… I don’t know.” Ventus sighs. He goes quiet, thinking hard it seems. It takes a minute, and Demyx is about ready to just pat him on the back and leave him to think, but he speaks again. “If…” He says quietly, “If I  _ do _ tell you, can you please try and keep it a secret? J-Just for now! Please?”

Demyx shifts, a bit uncertain. But then again it’s not like he can really be the high and mighty one considering all the stuff he’s been keeping to himself. With a more serious expression he meets Ven in the eye and nods. Ventus visibly relaxes and a big smile spreads across his face.

“Thank you! Alright so um… Where to start…” He hums then sucks in a breath with a nod. “It’s when we were on more properly meeting Elrena and…” He pauses, hesitation obvious as he clenches his fists, “A-And  _ Lauriam.” _ He sighs, shaking his head, “There wasn’t a problem at first! They’re really nice people now! But Lauriam and Elrena kept looking at me and  _ talking. _ Then later, they pulled me aside and--…” He stops, unsure of how to say it. He sits there and struggles to form the words as Demyx waits in curious anticipation. Ventus eventually sighs, “I… I think you and I just ended up having a  _ lot _ more in common.” He laughs sadly, making Demyx squint in confusion.

“I don’t… I don’t  _ follow _ .”   


“Lauriam and Elrena asked if I remembered them. If I remembered  _ anything.  _ I… I-I think I’m  _ also _ from Daybreak Town… If what they were saying is true anyways. I’m somehow a  _ Dandelion. _ But… I have no memory at all of it…” He finally looks up to Demyx, eyes slightly glossy. Demyx blinks in surprise. A small barrage of thoughts fly through his head in a second. They’re similar? Why wouldn’t Ven be able to remember? Did Xehanort do something ages ago? Does Ven have the same affliction  _ he _ does?  _ God the kid doesn’t deserve that. _ Pursing his lips into a tight line he sets a hand on Ven’s shoulder and speaks.

“ _ Hey, hey! Relax. _ This’ll get figured out… I know I promised, but are you  _ sure _ it’s good to keep this from Aqua and Terra?”

“N-No, they can’t know yet!” Ven pauses, not meaning to have spat that out so quick. Demyx pulls back a bit and tilts his head in questioning. Ven continues, “I-I… I wanted to see if somehow  _ all _ of my memories would come back on my own before that. It would be more useful to them that way, y’know? They’ve already had to deal with me having memory loss  _ once… _ I don’t want them having to worry about it again if I can help it.”

“It doesn’t…  _ hurt _ to remember, does it?”

“Oh! Um…” Ven scrunches his face up in thought for a moment, blue eyes intense. Thankfully, he ends up peacefully shaking his head. No problems in that department. Demyx visibly relaxes with a sigh and smile probably more dramatic than it should be. 

“ _ That’s good! _ I’m glad to hear it. You probably just gotta go bonk your head on something a few times to get yours back.” He jokes with a grin, tapping his own head for emphasis. Ven smiles but it’s clear he’s still conflicted--understandably so.

“I might be making progress though! I-I think I’m getting through to Chirithy into helping me! They’re a dream eater so maybe they can help me!”

Demyx blinks. Huh? A what? He chooses his words carefully, and goes on a whole face journey as he thinks through everything. Probably not the most comforting thing but this “comforting” thing wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. He can roll with it though and slowly nods.

“Okay, okay… I can follow, I get you. But uhhh… What’s a Chirithy?” Good place to start as any. Ven lights up at that.

“Oh my gosh you haven’t met them!!! I’m so stupid, of course you haven’t! Hold on!” He smiles slightly and turns around, cups his hands to his mouth, and Demyx is too slow to cover his ears before he starts yelling, “ _ HEY CHIRITHY!” _

Within a moment and a puff of sparkling smoke, an odd cat-like creature appears between the two on the wall with a bounce in it’s step. It looks to the blonde teen expectantly, not even noticing the other man there that’s now eyeing him with an intense curiosity and wonder akin to a scientist.Ventus smiles.

“This is Chirithy! I guess them being here already implies I  _ am _ from Daybreak Town but heh! I didn’t really know that… Each old keyblade wielder would have a Chirithy to help them gather Lux!” He smiles and Chirithy blinks.

“Why are you--...” They squint before glancing behind them and spotting Demyx. Immediately they yelp and stumble back, only to bump into Ven and be stopped from going any further. Ven laughs and sets them in his lap more comfortably. “W-Why--?  _ How--?” _

“Easy Chirithy! It’s alright…! This is Demyx--the guy I told you has been staying with us.” He nods and Demyx waves, a nervous smile on his face. Sure he wasn’t the  _ best _ with animals but  _ that _ was a bit of a dramatic reaction.

“O-Oh…! Oh, I see. You’re the amnesiac, huh?” Chirithy asks bluntly, making Demyx recoil in surprise.

“Er-- Well, yeah, I guess that’s one way you can put it. I-I think I’m doing better though…!” He nods to Ven, “I’ve… Well I don’t know if I can say  _ I _ remembered them but… I know what I saw when I grabbed the keyblade. I talked with Elrena about it… Pretty sure I saw some snippets of Daybreak Town.”

Ven lights up at that, “No way! For real?? Well that’s  _ great! _ ”

“W-Well, it may not be that simple!” He pauses and sits up, “I’m still trying to process everything myself, so… How about this. Since you’ve shared this big thing with  _ me, _ I’ll share what I saw with you, then when we both feel ready we can tell Aqua and Terra our weird revelations or visions together at the same time! I-I still need to think about how to bring it up and what it might  _ be _ so…” He trails off, laughing awkwardly. Ventus’ eyes light up and he nods holding out a hand.

“ _ Deal! _ Chirithy may be able to help you too!”

The Chirithy in question deflates, covering their eyes with their cute little stubby paws and shaking their head. 

“ _ I didn’t sign up for this. This wasn’t a part of the job description.” _ They mumble and Demyx grins, quickly gripping Ven’s hand and giving it a good shake.

“ **_Deal!_ ** _ ” _ He nods and Ven matches his grin. It was kind of cool getting to have a shared secret. Ven quickly leans forward.

“Okay so I lied a  _ little  _ bit. I-I  _ think _ I remember a  _ few _ things from Daybreak Town. But I always thought they were just my mind making things up in my sleep, you know? But that’s kinda why I’ve been so  _ worried _ about it. I-I just remember a lot of  _ danger _ and  _ darkness--” _

“--And  _ dread, _ right?” Demyx adds to which Ven lights up and nods, a smile creeping across his face at the idea of someone else  _ getting _ it.

“ _ Yes! Yes exactly!” _ Ven continues and Demyx chuckles a little. Demyx continues excitedly.

“A-And the  _ darkness. _ In what I saw, I-I saw and  _ felt _ this darkness engulfing everything and every _ one _ . It felt like it was--”

“--choking you, right??”

“Yes!” Demyx laughs, beaming. Ventus throws his arms up in celebration. They had something! This was way better than either could have anticipated. Demyx settles down and clears his throat, “Okay, okay. So this is all… Well  _ awesome! _ But I gotta clarify right now, I really don’t know if the memories I saw were truly  _ my _ memories or the keyblade’s old master’s, or even the keyblade’s memories itself. But either way, I  _ did _ see that keyblade in one part in my hand, so it definitely wasn’t a coincidence I saw those while holding  _ that _ blade.”

“ _ That’s so crazy!” _

_ “Right?” _ Demyx grins and Ven does the same. He shakes his head, “What does it mean? Man, I haven’t the  _ slightest _ clue. But hey, it might be helpful for the others to learn.” He pauses and frowns slightly, “I-It… I think there’s something very  _ serious _ about it though. One of the things I saw was in the middle of some battle, or another war. It was  _ before _ Daybreak Town too, I-I’m sure of it. So… That’s kinda freaky. There was something different about the darkness too. It felt like…” Demyx frowns, racking his brain for the right words.

“Like it was a person in a way, right?”

“ _ Yeah! _ But that doesn’t really make sense from what  _ I _ know about the darkness from the Org. So I dunno what that’s about…”

“I agree. There’s nothing that I really--” Ventus suddenly pauses, and Demyx frowns. Chirithy’s ears fold down slightly as they look up at Ventus in concern.

“What’s wrong?”

“ _ Vanitas _ … R-Remember what I said to you about him? About all the weird things he was saying especially  _ relating _ to darkness…? I still think he’s part of  _ me _ but maybe he  _ knows _ something... O-Or is at least  _ connected _ in some way! You said you never really liked him right?”

“Yeah… It was just something natural. Like-- _ innate.” _

“Maybe… Maybe that has something to do with your memories…  _ You _ may not remember encountering this Darkness whatever, but your subconscious might, so that might have been why you didn’t get along with him.”

“But they’re not my memories.” Demyx chuckles and shakes his head, “They  _ can’t _ be. I’m not… I’m not that  _ person.” _

“Hmm…” Ventus frowns, furrowing his brows in thought. “Maybe… I guess if your head didn’t hurt when you remembered and stuff then they may not be yours. But still…” He stares into the stone of the wall they’re sitting on, trying to piece at least  _ some _ of this puzzle together. He lights up a moment later, “Hey Chirithy! Do you think you could help?”

Chirithy shrinks down and glances away. “ _ Uhhh… Well…”  _ They clear their throat, “Personally I can’t since I’m not  _ his _ Chirithy. If he had one of his own they could probably do something but I can’t.”

“Aww… Well, can’t you talk to his Chirithy? He’s from the same era so he has one right?”

“I-I can’t tell.” Chirithy shakes their head. “I’m admittedly out of practice… The Final World will do that to you. Um! Anyways I’m _late!_ For a uhhh… _Thing!_ _Have fun! Nice meeting you! Okay! Bye!!!!”_ They quickly force themselves out of the conversation and disappear in the same puff they came in. Demyx scratches the back of his head.

“ _ Well they were sure in a hurry. _ Talk too fast for anyone to object. I used that tactic to get out of my chores at the castle!” He grins and Ventus laughs. He sighs and shrugs.

“They’re quirky, I wouldn’t take it too personally.” He smiles then sits there quietly in thought for a moment. “Can we… continue talking about Darkness? I wanna know what you saw and if it lines up with what I saw. Or at least  _ maybe _ saw…? I’m not sure yet… It’s still a bit blurry but I’m sure things’ll clear up in time.” Ventus sighs and rubs his temples as he speaks. Demyx nods.

“Hey don’t strain yourself too much.  _ Trust me, I get it. _ What are you thinking?”

“Well… I just… If Vanitas is involved then it’s  _ weird _ that the darkness in some ways has taken the form of a person without really  _ possessing _ them, if that makes sense… It feels different from what Master Xehanort did to Terra for example. The fact that it’s sentient enough to  _ do _ that and even exist this way is really  _ scary. _ And what’s the potential? Can it just become  _ whoever it wants? _ A-And just hide amongst everyone without ever being noticed???”

Demyx pushes his hair back out of stress. “ _ Oh geez. _ I hate that thought legitimately.”

“But?” Ven prods. Demyx shuts his eyes and whines as he answers.

“But my gut is saying you’re on the right  _ track. _ And I don’t  _ like _ that in the  _ slightest.” _ He crosses his arms tight and pulls his coat tighter around him as a chill runs down his spine. His throat’s gone dry again. Why was that? Dread fills his stomach as he furrows his brows in confusion and presses a hand to his temple without thinking, only to quickly recoil and hiss as a searing pain shoots through his head. He bites down hard on his lip to stifle the yelp that comes with it and quickly hunches over to grip his head. Ven’s eyes immediately go wide in worry.

“ _ Are you okay???” _ He reaches a hand out but hesitates, not sure if it would just end up hurting him more. Demyx holds out a shaky hand.

“ _ I’m… I’m getting there.  _ What the  _ hell _ is triggering it this time? I wasn’t-- I didn’t even--!” He sits up, pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes hard. 

“I’m sorry, I’m really really sorry I didn’t mean to--” Ven is stopped by Dem reaching out and lightly squeezing his wrist, one hand still pressed against his eye and he cracks the other to look at him. He--very cautiously--shakes his head.

“Dude, stop. This wasn’t you, I have no idea why this is happening  _ now _ when I’ve thought about all this stuff over just  _ fine _ for a  _ while. _ It distracted me from my  _ own _ memory problems. J-Just… Let’s head back. I-I’ll be fine, I just need to lie down for a bit. When I get back up we can continue this, cause it’s important. Sound like a plan?” He cocks a brow in questioning, leaving Ven torn. The teen bites his lip and thinks it over but eventually gives in and nods.

“Okay… If you say you’re okay, then I’ll trust you.” He nods seriously and stands. Demyx forces a smile as the ringing in his ears starts to grow louder.

“Good kid!” He gives a thumbs up then cautiously tries standing up alongside him. He drops his other hand from his eye to help him balance and immediately feels pain well up from behind  _ it _ as well. Once standing he stops to consider it, a stupidly confused look probably all over him. It’s the same pain starting up from when he was down by the river with Aqua a few weeks back. He doesn’t like it but forces himself to brush it off for the moment. He gestures for Ven to lead the way and the nervous teen nods and does so, however never straying too far ahead and frequently glancing back to make sure Demyx is alright.

The walk back up to the castle is a grueling one. Each step made his head throb then feel like a thousand needles were being stabbed into it. He knew Ventus was trying to talk as they walked, about little things, but the ringing in his ears now accompanied by something he could only say sounded like a bass drum which drowned out any sound around him. He usually wouldn’t put this effort into hiding it, just whine about it and go sulk alone, but the idea of dropping and needing Aqua and Terra to come waste their time helping him? And then scaring Ven in the process? That seems like a pretty dick move, and ex-Org or not he liked to think he was a decently good guy!

Reaching the entrance to the main plaza, however, it’s clear this isn’t gonna be one that goes away easily. Either he goes to Even for help all the way over in Radiant Garden or he lays in bed for 3 days straight. And man he really wasn’t vibing with the latter. This was  _ hurting. _ He stops to lean against one of the columns by the entrance and the world spins and spins, his vision uncertain on if it wants to go completely white or keep itself straight.  _ Even could help. Even could make this go away.  _ He can tell Ven’s stopped in front of him and is trying to find a way to help, but he can’t hear him nor can he get the energy to raise his head high enough to see his face. He can’t tell if he really got the words out of his mouth, but seeing Ven’s legs sprint out of view confirms he at least got  _ something _ across right. The next thing he knows he’s being helped through the gates of Ansem the Wise’s home and laboratory. A real safe haven these days.


	10. Wandering Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having some power set backs, Demyx has been mulling over a lot of things, including the weird keyblade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ive got thoughts? And questions about No Name/The Gazing Eye. Like. Xehanort bro whyd you stop using laser shit the moment u got it. whats up with that king.  
> Also this is hella short LKJSDFLKFJKD MY B I just wanted a better bridge before the next part

Another day, another check-up. In and out, in and out, it felt like all he was doing these past two weeks was being a little science experiment. Then again, it’s not like he could blame anyone, they just want to make sure he doesn’t die. Turning the corner of the castle, he grazes a hand over a pillar then squeaks as it gets stuck in a small cluster of ice. He scowls and whines, grabbing his wrist with his other hand to pull and using his foot against the pillar to push. With a loud crackle, he breaks himself free and stumbles backward, landing on his ass. He stares down at his hand in frustration. He was getting better, why now was he reverting back? Everything went downhill after he collapsed around Ven. That was one of his worst reactions since the Org, but he’s still baffled on how it was triggered. He can’t even remember what they were talking about to be frank, and any attempts to gave him the same awful reaction. Why was that memory off-limits now? He went down to check on Ven because he was out of it and then…? All he remembers is dropping in the plaza and the pain.

With a sigh he clenches his fist and gets back up. They had a new policy in the castle now because of it--any headache or deviation from the norm and he’s sent to see Even and Ienzo. He sucks in a breath to steady himself and try to get his powers to settle--it was too early in the day to get sent back. He  _ was _ hanging out in his room strumming his sitar, but the things in his room started either getting frozen or soaked. Or, as things typically went these days, soaked  _ then _ froze and unable to be undone. So he left to hopefully clear his head--maybe walking would get it out of his system? He  _ had _ been doing a lot of sitting lately, so maybe he was just antsy. 

He didn’t really have a destination in mind so he just kept walking the white marble halls, sticking out like a sore thumb as always. He pushes a sigh out through his nose, the air sparkling a little as it freezes. He clasps his hands behind his back and closes his eyes, just letting his legs and heart decide which way he should go.

_ May your heart be your guiding key. _

Those words ring out in his ears again. He’s heard Aqua or the weird mouse say them here and there, but he feels like he’s heard them said by someone else. Whenever they ring in his ears, it’s always a man’s voice. It feels familiar, but he hasn’t heard it from anyone he knows. He isn’t entirely worried about it, but then again he doesn’t think too hard about it, as expected. It’s just bait for another bad headache and a bunch of ice. 

He finds himself stopping, and furrows his brows slightly as he does. Okay, where’s he at that’s got him stopped? He blinks his eyes open and drops his arms to his sides, glancing around. It’s the library. At first glance there’s nothing really special about this place until he looks at the mantle before him. Encased for safety is that classic old keyblade. He takes a step back, disturbed to have wandered here. He rubs his arms, getting a chill as he glares up at the thing. Man, why’d his heart lead him  _ here? _ That’s the last time he listens to that stupid thing. He shakes his head and rests his hands on his hips. He was over it, but at the same time, couldn’t deny his curiosity over the old thing. He tilts his head slightly as he thinks, keeping contact with the bright eye mounted in the metal.

“Demyx! This is an odd place to find you.” A pleasant voice nearly makes him jump. He looks over to Aqua, probably looking rather silly as his cheeks flush red. Embarrassing to be caught roaming like a dumb kid. He rubs the back of his neck.

“Ah! Yeah, it really is huh?” He laughs awkwardly and Aqua offers a sympathetic smile. She walks over and places a hand on his shoulder.

“You alright?”

He sucks in a breath then shrugs, “I mean, I’m still standing so I’d call that a success!” He offers a grin and Aqua just hums, obviously wanting a different type of answer. Demyx loses some steam and nods. “I’m okay. Just needed to walk and I guess I was just… Just kinda curious about this old thing again.”

“I suppose that makes sense regarding everything…” She mumbles. He still hadn’t mentioned what he saw, but he probably should soon. Not even done with the first problem it’s caused and here he was again right before it, drawn to it, and he can’t explain why. He remembers back to when he first held it, how the weight of it felt in his hands, how it stopped his powers from acting out. It helped him somehow. He frowns and thinks back to all the times he saw the Old Man or Terranort use it, perhaps there was a pattern there. Aqua glances over and notices his look. “What’s troubling you?”   


“Huh?” He perks up, “Oh! I was just… Hey, do keyblade have  _ specialties? _ Like when it comes to magic and stuff?”

Aqua nods, “Certain keyblades will be more powerful for certain elements or different uses. Some hit harder, some you can swing faster, some cast more powerful magic. Each keyblade is unique and tied to their original wielder.”

“Even that one?” He points up at it. Aqua looks back at the old keyblade and stays quiet for a minute, considering it, then eventually nods.

“I assume so. Why?”

“Well…” Demyx mumbles, thinking on how to form what he wants to say. “Through my time in the Org, I’ve seen it wielded here and there, but not a whole lot. But I know whenever the old man used it, he had a real liking towards blizzard magic. Ice stuff.” He nods and Aqua hums, not exactly liking where he’s going with this. He holds his hands up and gives a grin, “Hey! Hey! I’m not planning on touching it! Really! But just, listen, cuz all the other Xehanorts? Like Xemnas, Ansem, his younger self? They all used, like, plasma or lasers as their shtick! So I’m just wondering if that keyblade has a preference for that kind of Blizzard stuff, so the old man had to switch out of his old habits to use that keyblade to its full potential.”

That makes Aqua pause to think. She remembers back to when her, Terra, and Ven all first confronted him in the keyblade graveyard as well as her fight with Terranort. She could never forget how he froze over Ven’s body. She’d never really considered Xehanort not naturally falling back on ice magic--even Vanitas took after him in using it--but…

“You’re sure his other versions didn’t use ice?”   


“Xemnas  _ loved _ threatening people with his lasers, I’m  _ never _ gonna forget the buzzing sound they made close to your ears.” He pauses and looks back up at the shining black metal, “Plus I just… When I first held it, I  _ swear _ I was gonna turn the place into an ice rink, but it’s like the blade balanced my powers for me, cause nothing huge really happened… It’s gotta deal with water and ice magic, at least in  _ some _ way! I just got this gut feeling.”

“Hm…” She stays quiet, thinking it over. “I suppose that makes sense. It’s not like I can easily dispute that.” She smiles a little, “And why are you suddenly so passionate about this, hm?” She raises a brow and Demyx laughs a bit nervously.

“ _ Okay, so maybe I was considering holding it again… _ I-I won’t though! Not… Not without permission anyways. I just… I keep getting drawn to it, and I dunno, if it helped once, maybe it’ll help again…” He mumbles with a sigh. “I was getting  _ better _ at this whole magic stuff! But now I’m just…” He looks down at his hands with a scowl. He balls his hands into fists and holds them against his chest. “I’m back to being unstable. Like none of that improvement ever happened.”

“ _ Demyx, _ it happened. You  _ did _ get stronger, and you  _ will _ regain control. But you need to be more patient with yourself, it’s only been a few weeks after all, maybe a month, yes? You’re a quick learner, truly! But don’t let that skew your perspective. Even if you’re quick to pick something up, it doesn’t mean you won’t stumble just like everyone else. Remember, your memory is inherently tied to your abilities right now, so by having a reaction like you did? It’s unfortunately no surprise your abilities took a hit.” 

He sighs, “ _ Yeah… Still don’t get it though… _ And now I can’t even remember what I was doing or thinking about when I  _ had _ that reaction. It’s like all my other memories now, and I don’t understand  _ why.” _

“Hmm… Have you mentioned that to Even when you’ve been in for check-ups?”

“Yeah. Axel got a kick out of it--said it supported his ‘shutting up’ theory.” He smiles and Aqua laughs a little.

“His  _ what?” _

“Did I not mention it?” He chuckles, “Basically it’s the idea that the reason my memory is blocked is to keep some kind of information hidden. Like my old me knew some important shit and didn’t want anyone else to get it so,” He he holds a finger to his head and makes a popping noise with his mouth, “Gone! Can’t spill if I don’t know what I’m spilling. I dunno how I feel about it though. The hell would  _ I _ stumble upon, yknow?” He laughs and Aqua nods in thought with an amused smile.

“That certainly sounds like something he’d think of. Regardless, don’t strain yourself. We’ll figure it all out in time, but if you’re already stressed right now, then working yourself up more isn’t worth it.”

“Right…” He nods.

“Why don’t you go back to your room, play some music?”

“Umm… I might in a little bit. I was having some troubles with it earlier, which is why I started walking around. I’m prob’ly just gonna keep walking for a while, until I get tired. If that’s okay.”

“Of course. Would you mind if I walked with you? Talking might help get your mind off of things, and we can go down the path.”

“Oh! Um…!” He’s a bit unsure. She’s just concerned about him, but he hates feeling like an unnecessary burden. At the same time, talking  _ would _ probably distract him. He rubs his neck and eventually nods, “Y-Yeah! But um can I meet up with you at the entrance in a minute? I--” He goes to give some sort of excuse or explanation but finds himself unable to really find one. Instead he just clamps his mouth shut and hopes she understands. She considers him for a moment, trying to read him, but it’s hard to read someone who can’t even read themself. She glances up at the old keyblade then back to him. But eventually she nods.

“Okay… Just… Don’t be long okay? And don’t do anything brash.”

“I-I won’t. I just… Wanna get my thoughts together I guess…” He mumbles and she nods again, mouth in a hard line.

“Again, don’t strain yourself. If you need anything just yell.”

“I’m good at that! Will do.” He smiles and that gets her to hum a little laugh and lighten up. With that she turns and leaves him alone in the library once more, the sound of her heels against the marble echoing through the large room. Once the sound fades Demyx lets out a breath he hardly realized he was holding. He rubs his chest a little and looks back up at the keyblade, the eye drawing him in. What an odd blade. Captivating though. He wonders what all that eye has seen over the years, and why he got the chance to see some of it. What it wants from him still. Why he came here. He doesn’t hear the words as they roll from his lips.

“ _ May your heart be your guiding key.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe my favorite parts will be uploaded next :) Coming SoonTM


	11. Check-Up Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another headache, another lab visit, man that routine's boring......................................................................................... unless? 👀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MEANT TO UPLOAD THESE SOONER BUT YKNOW. VIBES. ANYWAYS HAVE FUN I KNOW I AM

“My head hurts.”

“I know Demyx.”

“Am I dying?”

“No, Demyx.” Even lets out a sigh as he sits down by the young man once again in the lab. This is becoming more and more routine as time goes on, and it’s starting to become unnerving. He sighs as he finishes his basic check-up. “Do you know what triggered it this time? Were you attempting anything reckless?”

“No…”

“Are you certain?”

“ _ Yes.” _ Demyx sighs, sitting back and immediately regretting it upon looking at the bright lab lights above. He covers his face with his hands. “I couldn’t tell you what it was! And I feel bad for showing up here every time I have a  _ stupid _ headache with nothing  _ happening _ after--!”

“Don’t. We wanted you to return each time for a reason. Better to be safe and check each time than sorry. We never know if one of these days your body’s reaction to this magic will worsen. You’d prefer to be  _ here _ when that happens instead of home and writhing on your dirty floor, yes?” He raises a brow and Demyx begrudgingly nods. “Then it’s settled.” He nods and stands once more. “Rest here until the feeling goes away. We will not mind.” He pauses, “ _ Too _ much.”

“ _ Haha.” _ Demyx says dryly and Even smirks as he walks back to his table and reopens the old book he had been digging through. Demyx glances over, foggy head and all. “What’re you doing…?”

“Experimenting. Recently we’ve discovered some older spell and science books in the depths of this place. Who knew there would be more hidden rooms and storage spaces within such an already large castle.” He shakes his head. “Regardless, we’re working on recreating some of the things written within here--basically fact checking these old things. It gives us something to do in our off-time.” 

“Heh. Working even harder and calling it “off-time.” Fair enough for a bunch of science geeks.” Demyx grins and Even rolls his eyes. But there’s a pause and Even glances over to see Demyx trying to get a better look from where he’s at--a curious gleam in his eye.

“...If you can manage to stand and wander over here, you may watch.” He states. Demyx’s eyes widen and he opens his mouth to say something but is cut off, “ **_IF!_ ** You keep your hands off of the materials. Deal?”

“ _ Deal!” _ Demyx shoots upright, quickly regretting it as he hisses and grabs his head. Even chuckles softly.

“ _ Do take your time.” _ He smirks as he eyes the newly mixed liquid inside one of his test tubes. A purple and blue substance congeals within it and the light dances off of it in lovely ways reminiscent of looking at a galaxy. With some slow deliberation and plenty of effort Demyx manages to get up, stumble across the room, and pull a stool up to the other side of Even’s table. He eyes the test tube.

“Wow... That looks really nice. What’s it do?”

“Well, right now it just needs to set as I prepare the second aspect. It’s essentially just an ingredient for now. Quite the spectacle for something so pointless, yes?”

“Yeah.” He nods and goes surprisingly quiet, now captivated by the work at hand. It was an interesting but welcome change of pace. Even smiles a bit--Demyx may not be a scientist, but perhaps he had potential if nothing else worked out.

“How old is the book?” He mumbles. Even frowns in thought as he continues mixing things about. 

“We’re…  _ Uncertain _ at the moment. But it dates back several centuries at least. Elrena and Lauriam say the handwriting and bookstyle looks familiar to some books they saw when the were young, so the Age of Fairytales seems a good estimate for now.”

“Age of…  _ Fairytales…?” _ Demyx squints, the words rolling off his tongue. He blinks, a brow raised. “Is that what they call it?”

“Apparently.” Even shrugs. “Don’t ask  _ me _ why. I’ve yet to find proper documentation to study the proper history of the era, and Elrena and Lauriam of course don’t have the full story either.” He sighs, “An unfortunate bout of information lost to the hands of time. Perhaps we’ll get lucky and stumble upon the right people or things, but in the meantime I’m just as in the dark as you.” 

“Mm… Got it.” Demyx nods, sounding almost disappointed. Even eyes him curiously but eventually lets it go. The two fall into a reasonable silence. Demyx rests his head in his arms and contently watches through one eye cracked open as Even continues meandering about. An odd but somehow decent mix, the rest of the time is spent in good company. They strike up casual but quiet conversation here and there as time goes on, and at some point Even finds himself just talking through his process, Demyx fully attentive for what he could muster. He goes quiet again though as he reaches the last bit of his experiment. 

Even’s eyes are bright with excitement for how this will turn out, hell, his hands are practically shaking! He grins as he picks up his pace and grabs the original test tube and a new beaker full of a rather less exciting substance. It catches Demyx’s attention just slightly, who had admittedly dozed off a bit from the headache. He squints a bit, watching the scientist bounce from station to station making finishing touches. Even finishes and takes a breath, ready for the last bit. He sets the beaker down and slowly tips the test tube to mix the two. 

“ **_Don’t_ ** _ mix those. It’s volatile.” _ Demyx suddenly hisses and it makes Even nearly jump. The man steps back and lets out an exasperated sigh and he holds a hand over his heart. He rolls his eyes and rests a hand on his hip.

“ _ I beg your pardon??” _

“You…” Demyx squints at the beaker, eyes still cloudy. He reaches over and picks it up, scrutinizing the substance inside. “You missed a step… You shouldn’t mix these. Volatile...” He mumbles. Even blinks, now offended to be frank. He yanks the beaker out of his hands and sets it back down.

“I don’t know  _ what _ you are talking about but what did I  _ say _ about  _ touching--” _ He pauses, noting Demyx’s lack of reaction. He hesitates. Carefully he sets the test tube back in its holder then leans across the table and waves a hand in front of Demyx’s face. Demyx blinks and squints a bit, but not in response to Even, rather trapped in his own swirling thoughts. He doesn’t pull back or respond as he should, not even tracking his movements. Even leans back onto his heels, pondering what to do or say next but feeling like he needs to act fast. Curiously, he speaks up again. “Do you know what I missed?”

“Mm…” Demyx frowns, his brows furrowing as he stares off to nowhere in particular. Even sighs, unsure if he’s being messed with or not, yet his nerves not daring him to let down his guard. He glances at the test tube and beaker he had been holding, suddenly unsure of what to do next. Then, Demyx speaks up again, “One of the last steps…” He suddenly goes back to gripping his head in his hands, pressing his palms into his eyes. “A step in the margins… Scribbled in… Important.” He mumbles, the effort obviously being strenuous. 

Even’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. He glances back to the book which he’d left on one of the other tables behind him. He glances to Demyx once more before moving--no, there’s no way he could see the pages clearly from his angle. He hurries over to the book and retraces his steps, eyes quickly scanning the pages while still meticulously reading each step. Then he stops, startled. He glances back over to Demyx, who is now just sitting at the table and gripping his head. Something’s happening. He picks up the book and holds it closer, as if the words might disappear otherwise. But there they were. Hastily scribbled into the margins is an extra step he carelessly overlooked in his eagerness. He feels like something catches in his throat and quickly puts the book down and hurries to Demyx’s side.

“ _ Demyx, I believe you need to lie down again--” _

“ **_No._ ** ” There’s a pause and a groan as he grips his hair, “No, I’m  _ fine.” _ He mumbles and tries to move away as Even gently pulls his arm out to support him with. Demyx harshly yanks it away and grips his head again. Even’s frown deepens.

“I’m  _ serious. _ ” He moves about and changes position, gripping his shoulders instead. “You need rest. You are having some kind of adverse reaction and you  _ mustn’t--” _

“ _ I said I’m  _ **_FINE!_ ** _ ” _ Demyx suddenly snaps, tearing his body away from Even’s grip and glaring daggers up at him with snake-like eyes. A small bout of ice shot up the legs of the stool he was perched on in tune and out over the floor. Even sucks a breath in through his teeth at the sight and can’t help but recoil at the outburst. Luckily enough though, that’s the worst it gets as Demyx almost immediately shrinks back into himself--the ice going with him--and cries out in pain. Even quickly acts, catching him by the arms before he hits the ground too hard.

“ _ My  _ **_god_ ** _ , Demyx!” _ He hisses to no one in particular, knowing the young man can no longer hear him. He sits on the ground with the writhing young man, his mind abuzz with hundreds of thoughts and ideas flying through his head. Within moments, Ienzo and Aeleus have made it into the room after hearing the commotion. Even meets the two in the eyes, confusion clear in their faces. “Help me with him! I will explain what I know once he is settled again.  _ Hurry! _ ”


	12. "Ruh Roh" - My Google Doc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a bit since dropping in the lab, and Ev's got some news... Not sure if it's what anyone wanted to hear though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS ONE WAS MY FAVORITE, WE GOIN THERE AND I LOVE WRITING EVEN BTW,,,, YOU GO YOU FUNKY LITTLE SCIENTIST!

Slow, repetitive beeps fill the air. They sound just as mechanical as they always do, always annoying but necessary. They’re the first thing he hears. Scrunching up his nose in frustration at the little sound, Demyx slowly stirs once again. Through squinted eyes, the traits of the room he’s in slowly return and  _ god _ is it  _ bright. _ With a slight groan, he absent mindedly brings an arm up to cover his eyes then hesitates. He forces his eyes shut and holds them there for a few seconds before opening back up and forcing them to refocus. The transition from the bleary eyed look of everything to this sudden and intense sharpness is jarring and he momentarily cringes to blink his eyes back to normal. 

He grunts and slowly sits up. Where was he anyways? Some kind of medical bed? Oh. He glances back to his wrist and now recognizes the small wristband keeping an eye on his pulse. Following the sound he looks up and on the nearby wall is a holo display of a heartrate. Absentmindedly he raises two fingers to the spot right under his jaw to check his own pulse. 

Ba-Bum.

Ba-Bum.

Ba-Bum.

Yep, it was  _ his _ heartrate that’s being monitored alright. Now why was that? He looks around the rest of the room now, his head starting to clear. This was one of the labs in Radiant Garden… How’d he get here again? He frowns, about to follow that line of questioning when footsteps approaching the doorway surprise him. He absentmindedly grips the light sheet that was draped over him. Even, clipboard in hand, walks through and doesn’t seem even slightly interested in him until he takes a glance and notices he’s up.

And boy. Does he  _ notice. _

“ _ Oh good  _ **_lord_ ** _!”  _ He gasps, nearly dropping the clipboard in his fumbling. Demyx blinks and holds his hands up slightly. Even steadies himself and forces out a sigh as he holds a hand to his forehead. “My  _ apologies _ , Demyx.”

“You good, man…?” He tries asking, finding his voice oddly croaky. He frowns in confusion and lightly rubs his neck. Even walks over to the side of the bed and sets his clipboard down on the small metal table beside it. He grabs a simple glass of water and hands it to Demyx, motioning for him to drink it. He hesitates but does so--luckily without issue or any ice. Even shakes his head.

“I am fine. You merely…” He hesitates, avoiding eye contact. “ _ Surprised _ me is all…” He picks up the clipboard again, flicks a small pen out of his coat pocket, and flips a few papers over to scribble down some note. Demyx watches in concern as he downs the last of the water faster than he probably should’ve. He smiles and chuckles a bit awkwardly as he has to wipe his chin clean. Thirstier than he thought! Then again he was  _ just _ processing how he actually felt so whatever. Turning, he sets the glass back down himself then looks up to Even who seemingly has more to say. Even clears his throat, Demyx’s gaze making him oddly uncomfortable it seemed. Demyx glances down from his eyes and instinctively sizes him up, quickly slapping himself mentally for doing so. He’s no threat, what’s with the tension in his chest?

“Am I… Like…  _ Okay, _ Ev?” He looks up to Even, the concern making him oddly serious. Even bobs his head in consideration.

“Well… Truthfully I was going to ask  _ you _ that.” He frowns and sits down on a nearby stool. “Obviously you seem  _ conscious _ enough but how’s your head? Your body?”

Demyx pauses to actually think about it. He picks his hands up and stares down at them, turning them over to gauge their weight. He shuffles a bit on the bed, slowly rolls his shoulders, moves his legs a bit, the whole shebang. After a quiet minute of deliberation his expression eases and he shakes his head with a shrug, dropping his hands back to his lap.

“Honestly? I feel pretty _good._ _Light.”_

“ _ Light?” _ Even implores, pen at the ready. Demyx nods.

“Yeah, man. Like, my limbs are light! No pain, no weight--mental  _ or _ physical. No tension, soreness, nada!”

“And your head?”

“ _ Fine _ honestly. No different than usual.” He pauses and scratches the back of his head, tangling his fingers in his hair and lingering there. “Er well-- _ Better _ than usual I think? T-The  _ new _ usual anyways. It’s like… The good I felt at the start of the org. No headaches, no hints of any. The only fogginess I got is from just waking up I think… You give me some kind of meds?”

Even hums in something akin to disapproval. “I see…  _ Perhaps _ …” He mumbles to himself then eyes Demyx again, who’s suddenly nervous. Even leans forward slightly. “Could you tell me your name?”

Demyx blinks. Is he serious? He’s certain his expression gave away how stupid of a question he thought that was. Even rolls his eyes then holds a hand up expectantly.  _ Well? _ Demyx answers tentatively. 

“It’s  _ Demyx… _ Always  _ has _ been? Since the--...” He pauses, starting to get a faraway look in his eyes as he mumbles, “Since the org anyways… I… That’s...” He begins to furrow his brows as he retreats into his own head, the world around him clouding. That’s his name, right? But… Something’s not so sure in him. He begins trying to dig through his memories, but everything just whizzes past in incoherent blurs. God he just wants to hold his head in his hands, why doesn’t he just--

Even suddenly slams a hand down onto his shoulder with an iron grip. Demyx jumps and sucks in a breath through his teeth as he recoils and stares at Even with sharp accusing eyes. He feels the scientist’s grip tighten momentarily as he looks at him, but he quickly eases up and sits back again. Demyx could hear the heartrate monitor speed up then slowly settle back down. Even nods.

“My apologies, but I just need you to stay in the present with me this time.” He sighs as he writes something else down. Demyx grips the sheets, suddenly tense. He mumbles.

“Oh come on dude... what the hell’s  _ that _ mean?”

“ _ Easy _ Demyx.” Even reaches out a gentle hand to rest on his arm and Demyx pulls it back to his chest instead. Even sighs. “I don’t want to  _ alarm _ you, just try to  _ relax… _ You had a  _ reaction--” _

“A  _ reaction?” _ He asks incredulously, laughing out of sheer disbelief. Even just continues with a nod.

“And we’ve been caring for you in the meantime. The others are aware you’re here and at this point we’re all just awaiting the okay that you’re stable enough to leave and function.”

“That’s really fuckin’ eerie, man. Could you stop sugarcoating it like I’m some stupid  _ kid _ and spit it  _ out _ already? What happened!?” He pauses and holds a hand to his forehead, “Aw man how long have I  _ been _ here?”

“ _ Enough _ Demyx, if you work yourself up  _ again _ you’ll be here even  _ longer _ than you already  _ have _ been.”

“ _ Again??”  _ Demyx grips himself, heart speeding up as his nerves continue to jab at him. Even tenses at the sound of the heartrate monitor speeding up. From his spot he sees Dilan and Aeleus standing in the doorway, ready to come in. Subtly he shakes his head--he can take care of this. He sets his board and pen down and quickly changes seats, sitting down on the bed instead and yanking Demyx’s hands away from him. It startles Demyx, and he feels his hands chill. Sucking in a breath to steady his own nerves, Even grips their hands tight and stares at him intensely. He has his attention now.

“ _ Breathe, Demyx. Control yourself. You’re safe here and you’re in good company. _ No  _ thing _ nor  _ person _ is coming to attack you. I don’t know what’s bouncing around in that odd little head of yours but you must  _ ground _ yourself. Now breathe with me, okay?” He lightly bounces their hands to get his full attention, nodding once he’s got it. “Now mirror me, sit up straight…” He sits up and Demyx hesitantly follows suit, hands shaking. “ _ Very good..! _ Let’s take in a deep breath through the nose okay? I’ll count.  _ One… Two… Three… Four  _ and  **_out_ ** _. Slowly _ now.” He chides and Demyx slowly pushes the air out through his mouth. Even nods, “ _ Incredibly well done…! _ Now let’s try it again, yes?” He nods to Demyx who just grips his hands slightly in acknowledgement. They continue this routine. 

In… Two… Three… Four…

_ Out… Two… Three… Four… _

In… Two… Three… Four…

_ Out… Two… Three… Four… _

An indiscernible amount of time passes, but eventually Even notes the warmth that has returned to the young man’s hands and his newfound ease. It took a little while to coax him back, but a little bit of awkward relaxation exercises sure beat any extra ice that’d need cleaned up. Slowly Even lets their hands drop back down to the bed, and he slips his out from under Demyx’s. Quietly he clasps his in his lap and waits as Demyx pulls his back. He gives him a needed minute to additionally process. With one final deep breath, Demyx blinks back to life, quietly nodding to Even. He’s okay now. Even slowly nods.

Neither really know what to say next. Even not wanting to overwhelm him again and cause another  _ outburst _ and Demyx not wanting to make anything more awkward than it already was. I mean, sheesh! He feels like a child. So much for not wanting to be a burden. He’s not sure if he  _ wants _ to hear what happened anymore. God, he doesn’t want any of this stuff to be happening in  _ general. _ It was too much. Too many feelings. Too many powers. Too many  _ responsibilities. _ He just wants to curl up tight in his coat in his own little home in his own little corner of the world, play music, and never be bothered again! Why’s that life so hard for him to get his hands on? He plucks at the little wristband.

“I came in because I had a headache right…?”

Even pauses and stays quiet. He considers his options; Considers if saying anything would be too  _ much. _ Demyx looks up at him, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and Even just sighs.

“Yes… we did a typical check-up.”

“And… And I stayed to watch you do an experiment out of that old book.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I…” Demyx frowns. Even shifts nervously.

“ _ If you can’t remember, Demyx, it’s okay. _ Don’t unnecessarily strain yourself like--”

“No, I remember. It’s okay.”

Even blinks, sitting up now in mild surprise. Demyx just looks up and shrugs half-heartedly.

“I remember. I… I got this flash, and I knew that what you were gonna mix was bad. I remembered seeing the words in the book. Seeing that  _ spell. _ So I told you to stop, and…” He rubs his neck. “I guess that was my  _ reaction, heh… _ Makes sense in hindsight.” He rolls his eyes playfully then clears his throat and continues, “A-And… Well  _ then _ I got  _ angry... _ and I seriously  _ lashed out _ .” He blows out a heavy sigh and rubs his eyes with his palms. “In the moment, as stupid as it sounds, I thought I was  _ okay _ and that I was the  _ real _ me.” He jabs his chest above his heart as he speaks, trying to figure his thoughts out. “So you just trying to help made me  _ mad. _ I felt I had something to  _ do _ and you were just--” He clenches and unclenches his fists, frowning at himself, “ _ just getting in my  _ **_way_ ** _.” _

It was unexpectedly harsh from him, but it was the truth as to how he felt. Even is unsure what to say or do, so instead he sits there stiff and merely listens. After a moment Demyx huffs with a smile and rubs his face. He shakes his head then nods back to the side table.

“Go on, doc. You wanna scribble all that stuff down, right? It’s, like, a testimony or whatever.” He smiles and jerks a thumb towards himself, “ _ Quote straight from the source...!” _

Even blinks, seemingly not even having it on his mind, then lights up. “Oh! _ OH! Yes of course, good heavens!” _ He bops himself on the forehead and Demyx chuckles as he passes the board and pen to him. Even quickly gets to work. Demyx bites his lip and peeks over to see how he’s writing it--not bad! Sloppy handwriting of a scientist, but legible, and nearly word for word! Not like he’d expect much less from a lab freak like Vex--er,  _ Even. _ Still getting used to that. Upon finishing up Even hums in thought, but is seemingly satisfied. He stares at what he just wrote down for a moment then pulls the other papers back down and glances them all over once more. Finally content, he flips back to the last page he just wrote on, readies his pen once more and turns with a question in his eyes. He chooses his words carefully, open-ended. “Is there… Anything more you’d like to add?”

Demyx pauses then shakes his head, coming to a quick decision. “I don’t know if I remember anything else. Even then, I don’t wanna try right now…”

“That’s quite alright.” Even nods in understanding.  _ God _ does he understand, or perhaps it’s just overwhelming relief that he doesn’t have to deal with any more stress. “I just have one final question for you, and it’s a rather  _ odd _ one, but it’s necessary. Is that okay right now?”

He nods. “Yeah. Now or never, right? Unless I’m reading the energy wrong here.” He half-jokes and gets a slight smile from the scientist. Even nods.

“Alright.” He returns to his professional standard in a flash--Demyx was always impressed with how quickly he and Zex, er,  _ Ienzo _ could flip that switch--and proceeds. “Since waking have you had any abnormalities in regards to your vision? Problems? Oddities?”

Demyx blinks. Even sits there expectantly, pen in hand. _Okay._ _Odd_ is right I guess. Talk about off topic or out of nowhere. But whatever, he can roll with the punches. Demyx shakes his head, unable to keep the slight grin off his face at just the idea of such a silly question.

“ _ Nah. _ Sorry to disappoint. I’m not seein’ any stars or losing colors here.” He chuckles and taps his cheek right below his eye. Even nods, serious as ever as he writes something down. Demyx raises a brow, smile still wide. “ _ Man _ , I knew you docs and stuff wrote a lot of stuff down, but that’s a lot of papers for just lil ol’ me.” He tries making light of things despite his nerves and Even merely gives an uneasy smile. He stands finally and sets the clipboard on the stool from earlier. He sets it upside down, keeping the info written there away from prying eyes. Demyx takes note but doesn’t say anything. 

“Well that’s definitely  _ good _ to hear that your vision has not been damaged or hindered by any means.”

“What made you so concerned?” Demyx leans against one of the bed’s handrails and Even sucks in a breath. He tucks his pen back in his breast pocket and tries looking as casually as possible as he comes up with a way to present the topic.

“If you’re  _ able _ we should talk about--” He hesitates, grimacing a bit as he says it, “about the  _ aftermath _ of your reaction.”

“Did I hurt anyone?” Demyx grips the handrail, a sudden wave of seriousness washing over the plastered smiles once more. He pauses as soon as the words leave his mouth, startled that he’d even ask that about himself. Even shakes his head regardless and Demyx lets out a huge sigh of relief and holds a hand over his heart. 

“ _ However,” _ Even continues, catching Demyx’s attention once more. He clasps his hands as he keeps his own nerves at bay, “This is not the  _ first _ time you’ve woken up since you initially dropped in the other lab. Then again, you seem to be a bit brighter than some think, so I’m sure you’ve already gathered that. After all we’re not even in the same room.”

“Yeah, I noticed that…” He mumbles, eyes still trained on Even. The scientist nods and continues.

“You’ve woken up before, but  _ this _ time you seemed to be the most…” He searches for the right word, “ _ Sober. _ I don’t know how to phrase this given the  _ odd _ situation you’re in, but upon waking up previously, you would only be calm for the first few minutes until you got your bearings, then you lashed out once more. I don’t know if I would call you  _ delusional _ or if…” He hesitates, biting his tongue.

“Or  _ what, _ Ev?” Demyx forces him along and the tone makes Even grimace.

“Or if  _ perhaps _ , in the moment, you had  _ access _ to a large portion of your memories, and your mind was simply being overloaded by so much information at once. You were overwhelmed, definitely, and kept spitting out names and places and plans and  _ needs _ , but unfortunately for us  _ now _ it was all next to incomprehensible.” He shakes his head, “I wrote what I could down, but you kept trying to get up and shake us off. You were inconsolable, and it took us as a  _ team _ to sedate you again. I apologize  _ sincerely _ for any bruising or pain you may feel later. You were so  _ tense _ so the injection sites will probably be sore as well as wherever Aeleus and Dilan had to grip you.”

“I… I was  _ that bad?” _ His eyes are wide, absolutely awestruck at such a prospect.

“ _ Yes.” _ Even replies quietly.  _ Sadly. _ Demyx sits there in quiet shock. His gaze travels back down to his hands in his lap. He just stares and wonders. How…  _ How? _ How could  _ he _ be able to cause such chaos. He suddenly feels sick to his stomach. This wasn’t what he ever asked for. If he was someone that was a  _ danger _ to people he cared about--whether they cared back or not--then it made him sick. He crosses his arms tight over his stomach, slightly curling in on himself.

“And… The other rooms… They’re a mess, aren’t they?” He looks up to Even who simply nods in silence. Demyx hugs himself, guilt washing over him. 

“It’s… more manageable than you’d think however.” Even awkwardly adds and Demyx glances up to him, seriously not buying it. Even continues regardless, “It  _ seems _ our initial theory that your control over your powers lies with your hidden memories was correct in at least  _ some _ manner… During your…” He chooses his words carefully, “ _ fits, _ you _ did _ use your powers in your attempts to get free--and while your form was still incredibly  _ sloppy _ given your state of mind--” He adds, Demyx rolling his eyes and huffing with a slight smile--typical Vex adding his two cents, “--you were  _ far _ more in tune with them and it seemed to take less effort. That being said this now seems to be a double edged sword of sorts if  _ this _ is going to be the normal as you regain your memories…” He trails off. Demyx leans back on the bed and covers his eyes with his arms eventually letting out a huge, frustrated sigh. He drops his arms to his sides and just stares at the ceiling.

“So what do I  _ do _ then?? Just let these stupid weird episodes happen until I, like, get it out of my system or whatever and then just?? Wake up a whole different person?? Or do I just--!” He stops to breathe, obviously annoyed with himself, “Or do I just like… Stop  _ trying _ to remember and give up…? I mean, wouldn’t that be better than all this trouble and damage? A-And if I  _ hurt _ one of you guys someday!” He sits back up again, gesturing to Even and the rest of the castle before shaking his head and shrugging. “Man, I dunno… I don’t like fighting. I don’t like havin’ to hurt people, especially now that I’m  _ out _ of the org! I just--!” He shakes his head and rubs his cheek, “ _ What do I do, man...?” _

Even sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He didn’t necessarily sign up to get  _ this _ deep, but lo and behold,  _ here he was. _ Not like the kid had anyone else who could help him. Damn the organization for making them colleagues. He drops his hand and sighs, crossing them and leaning against the stool with an expectant Demyx waiting for some kind of answer or advice.

“I believe you’re now too far along to simply  _ stop _ , Demyx.” He states and Demyx hangs his head low. Not what he wanted to hear. 

“I’d ask what makes you say that but… _ Shit… _ Why do I have to feel like you’re right? Why do you gotta be a smart person?”

“Sometimes the right thing to do is the most arduous.” He takes in a breath, “This is certainly the  _ hard _ route, but perhaps it’s the necessary one. No magic can last  _ forever _ after all.”

“That true?” Demyx half heartedly raises a brow, really not into the conversation anymore. Even shrugs.

“For the most part. The caster would have to run out of energy eventually. And nothing in nature nor science can last indefinitely either. It’s only logical whatever curse or spell is bound to you would slowly start to weaken and crumble,  _ especially _ after the strain of changing from nobody to human  _ twice _ .”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Demyx blows him off and Even rolls his eyes. “Any ideas who casted it anyways…?”

“Why are you asking  _ me? _ Do you think I have your previous life’s autobiography just lying around one of these labs? If such a thing even existed--and was  _ then _ lying around my lab--then we wouldn’t be here having this issue now would we?”

“Prob’ly not.” He mumbles.

“ _ Correct.” _ Even emphasizes then throws up his hands with a shrug, “Unless  _ you _ magically think of someone, I’m afraid we have no suspect except  _ yourself. _ And even if you  _ got _ to the point where you remembered who did it, then it might be rather pointless to do anything with that information as that’ll probably be one of the  _ last _ memories to return to you.”

“Man what happened to treating me  _ nicely?” _ Demyx dramatically pouts and Even rolls his eyes once more.

“I’m simply giving you the facts that you need to hear. Whether or not you like them is out of my control.” 

“ _ Right. _ My bad.” Demyx sighs, “Any ETA for when I can leave..? No offense but I’m already sick of looking at these lab walls.”

“I suppose I don’t blame you.” Even picks up his clipboard and pulls out his pen again, skimming his notes once more as he speaks, “It all depends on how you behave, if you have any more resurgences in your memory, and thus any more  _ fits.” _ He bats the air with his pen as he continues, “ _ Which, _ it still might be  _ nice _ to at least attempt seeing if you can remember any of the other times you woke up. From there, if you  _ can _ remember, some insight into your thought processes or physical sensations could prove beneficial in  _ any _ way, truly. Then, depending how  _ that _ goes, we will most likely keep you on the grounds just to monitor the aftermath and any aftereffects--”

“So another day? Two?  _ Three? _ ”

Even frowns and huffs in annoyance from being interrupted but clears his throat and nods. “Essentially? Something like that.”

“ _ Eugh.” _ Demyx groans.

“Again, would you rather not have done any of this and be suffering through this alone in that dingy little apartment of yours, or be  _ here?” _

“ _ Here…” _ Demyx mumbles and Even nods. As he thought. After another minute of skimming over his notes Even awkwardly shuffles in place, one more topic coming to the forefront of his mind. Demyx, head resting on his hand like a bored teenager just waves at him. “Just spit it out, man. Might as well at this point. I can bite the bullet!”

“Yes, alright. But do be sure to prepare yourself as this is… definitely the most  _ startling _ part of this whole ordeal thus far. Throughout our conversation today, I can say I’ve grown more used to it, though it’s still something that leaves an odd pit in my stomach.” He moves over to a nearby medical cabinet and begins digging around. Demyx perks up at this, nerves starting to come back.

“Uhh… What’s  _ that _ mean, Ev?”

“ _ Well… _ After such an intense  _ resurgence _ there were bound to be at least  _ some _ side effects. However I can say I didn’t quite expect a physical one, nor a physical one that’s so…” he pauses his search for the right word, “ _ poignant.” _ He finally grabs what he needs and stacks it atop his clipboard, holding both against his chest. He closes up the cabinet and turns back to face Demyx. “I  _ know _ you mentioned small physical things, such as reaction time, handwriting, so on and so  _ forth _ , but  _ do _ prepare yourself, for this is…  _ very different. _ Fascinating from a scientific point of view I must say, as I’ve not quite seen anything like it on a person! But that’s probably not the most  _ comforting _ thing to hear either.” 

Demyx sits there, mouth slightly hanging open and shooting him a look that speaks louder than anything he could say.  _ Wow. No shit, huh? _ Ignoring it, Even sits back down on the medical bed and takes a breath. Demyx can swear he hears his heart beating in his ears. That’s probably just the monitor though—so true in a sense. Even pulls the small handheld mirror out from between his chest and clipboard. Demyx goes to grab it when Even yanks it back for just a moment, catching Demyx’s attention.

“I am letting you know in advance, should anything happen in these next few seconds, Aeleus and Dilan are right outside the doorway. Now  _ preferably _ , nothing bad  _ will _ happen, but you must try and keep a  _ grip _ on yourself.” He takes a breath, “And of course, keep in  _ mind _ that we’re seemingly _ stuck _ with you now.” Even smiles warmly at that, lightly joking. He nods in reassurance. He won’t be alone in getting through this. Demyx stares for a moment, processing his words before finally returning the gesture. His smile is pleasant, and somewhat different now with the change, but in a good way. His smile feels more genuine with the change. Unique.  _ His. _

With that he grips the small mirror in both hands, not quite looking into it yet. How on earth was he supposed to prepare himself for a change he couldn’t even feel? Nothing hurt. He had all appendages and facial features so he was stumped. Deciding to just dive in head-first, as was his way, he took a slight breath and pulled the mirror up to his face. He immediately recoils at the sight.

It wasn’t something you could miss. Perfectly eye level because, well, it was his  _ eyes. _ The cloudy teal he was used to was gone. In its place, it seemed like what little green had been a part of that teal had all retreated to the center of his iris, outlining his pupil with a brighter almost luminescent green. The rest of his iris--with the thin layer of green creating the teal gone--was now a brilliant blue the color of the sky. Then the detailing of his iris was crystal clear, intensely so. It made sense why Even was avoiding eye contact when he first came in. They were so bright they almost glowed. But the most striking feature of course were his pupils. No longer the usual circular shape, but rather elongated and constricted like that of a cat or snake’s. He absentmindedly reaches up to his eye and cheek, gently pulling on the lower eyelid as if it were all some trick of the light. He blinks several times, closes his eyes tight then reopens, anything he can think of. But there’s no change.

Something in his chest drops, and he feels a sudden weight he could not even begin to fathom nor describe. He swallows, throat suddenly too dry and lets the mirror drop onto the bed. He clenches his shirt into his fist right over his heart as it all sinks in, gripping the bedrail with his other hand, knuckles white. It’s like he can’t catch his breath, like something is pressing down onto his lungs and his heart aches.

Well. Saying it “all” was “sinking in” was probably putting it cooly. He had no idea what this meant. But by god did he not feel good about it in the  _ slightest. _

Even in time reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder. Demyx glances back but averts his eyes downwards within seconds. He wouldn’t want to have to look at them either. Not longer than necessary. Even squeezes his shoulder in reassurance then crouches down to catch his eyes again, a question in his own.

_ Are you okay? _

Demyx sits there at a loss for words. He couldn’t even say if he was okay  _ physically. _ He honestly didn’t know. But in the meantime, his head at least wasn’t as foggy. He wasn’t gonna lash out. But also he wasn’t gonna whine, he wasn’t gonna cry, nothing. Not right now anyways.

He wasn’t gonna do  _ anything _ . 

With a deep breath he just holds the mirror out for Even to take and shakes his head, trying to act as casual as humanly possible.

“ _ Ev, I’m gonna be real honest. I am either gonna puke or faint in the next 5 minutes and I have zero idea which one it’s gonna be. Can I please get some water, like,  _ **_now_ ** _?” _

_ “Oh boy.  _ Well I suppose it’s better than sedating you. If you  _ must _ faint,  _ try _ aiming for the pillow right behind you  _ instead _ of some ridiculous gymnastics move over that bed’s  _ handrail.” _

_ “ _ **_Water_ ** _ , Even.” _


End file.
